


one good turn

by ellie1908



Series: Catradora College AU [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, Minor Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Minor Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Texting, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 53,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24509776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellie1908/pseuds/ellie1908
Summary: [DM: Adora & Catra]Adora🌻:You free this weekend?Adora🌻:Want to work on the econ paper together?catra😈:hold on lemme check my schedule[DM: Catra & Scorpia]catra😈:HELP SCOPRcatra😈:SHE WANTSTO STUDY TGT THIS WKENDcatra😈:WHAT DO I SAY???????OR: Professor Shadow Weaver hates Catra but loves Adora. Catra should probably be jealous of Adora, but all she can think about is the lopsided grin on her dorky face.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Catradora College AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1787053
Comments: 497
Kudos: 1344
Collections: Gay Pride Month





	1. Chapter 1

Catra is staring again. 

She knows it is rude to stare—she is not _that_ socially inept—but she cannot help it. 

Every Wednesday, at 8:25 am sharp, Adora walks into the economics lecture hall with her friends, Bow and Glimmer. They are usually chatting and laughing, being way too cheerful for the class that is held way too early in the morning. 

The sight of Adora smiling, her hair in a high ponytail, dressed in the same outfit every week, is the highlight of Catra's week. It is kind of sad that nothing interesting happens in her life, but she will take what she can get. 

Unfortunately, she does not get what she wants today. Someone with a large build walks right in front of her and just _stops_ there, cutting Adora entirely off from her view. 

She frowns and cranes her neck up to see Scorpia, holding a cup of coffee for her. "Thanks," Catra mutters, "can you sit down now." She shoves Scorpia into the seat next to her. 

Adora and her friends are back in her view, the three of them taking their usual seats in the front row. Adora's ponytail bobs as she turns to retrieve her notes from her messenger bag, getting everything ready like the prim and proper student she is.

"Oh dear, again?" Scorpia sighs, used to Catra's staring because it has been happening _every single week without fail_. "You should just ask her out already."

Catra seems to be lost for thought, probably looking at the way Adora's tongue is peeking out of her mouth, and Scorpia knows when she finally registers her words because she whips around quickly. Catra gapes and blushes, her face turning red, and oh, are the tips of her ears red too? Catra is so _adorable_.

"What," Catra whispers, her eyes darting to Adora and back to Scorpia as if there was any chance Adora could have heard her all the way from the back of the lecture hall. 

"Why don't you just ask Adora out?" Scorpia repeats, even though she knows Catra has heard her just fine. 

"What do you— I don't— _She_ doesn't—" Catra sputters, cheeks burning, avoiding Scorpia's all-too-knowing gaze.

"Catra." A spine-chilling voice floats from the front of the lecture hall. "Is there something you'd like to say to everyone?" Professor Shadow Weaver says, in a no-nonsense tone that strongly suggests that Catra better not have anything to say.

Catra hurriedly shuts up and turns her gaze to her bag, trying to find her goddamn notes... but she belatedly remembers that she has forgotten to print them.

"No notes again, Catra? There's just no helping unmotivated students," Professor Shadow Weaver sighs. Sniggers break out throughout the lecture hall. "Adora, good to see that you're always ready for class." 

"What an asshole," Scorpia mutters under her breath. She pushes her notes toward Catra. "Here, we can share."

"Thanks," Catra says softly, keeping her head down for the entire lecture, not wanting to get into any more trouble. 

For some reason, ever since the semester started, Professor Shadow Weaver had been out to get her, from criticizing her in front of the whole lecture hall to docking points off her assignments for small mistakes that Scorpia had made too, but did not get penalized for. 

Unlike the common belief the entire class seems to have about Catra—that she is lazy and unmotivated—which is loudly and regularly emphasized by Professor Shadow Weaver, Catra is an excellent student. Sure, she may exhibit a blatant disregard for authority and may be a little too hot-headed and stubborn, but she works hard and smart. She always puts in extra effort into her studies, with As in all her classes...

Until Introduction to Economics, taught by Professor Shadow Weaver.

She is _not_ going to end up with a C in this class, not if she can help it. Professor Weaver may be actively trying to knock her down, but she is not going down without a fight. 

She is going to get her A, one way or another.

* * *

She is never going to get her A, not after _that damn announcement_.

Catra can see through Professor Weaver's plan as clear as day. It was devious, cunning, and ruthless, which was what she should have expected of her. 

And she just delivered the finishing blow today. 

The lecture hall buzzes, people chattering away excitedly, already making plans and forming groups.

_Group project. 60% weightage._

Catra may or may not have trouble breathing.

She imagines Shadow Weaver plotting in her office (that somehow never has lights on), _how do I make Catra's life even more miserable?_

First, isolate Catra from her peers through blatant criticism, check. 

Second, implement—of all forms of assessments—a group research project, when no one with half a brain would willingly group with her, check.

Third, and the killing blow, delivered this fine Wednesday, to single-handedly decide that its weightage would be increased from 20% to a hefty 60%, check.

"Let me know your groupings by this Friday. For those who aren't able to form a group of five," Professor Shadow Weaver says, looking directly at Catra, "drop me an email and I'll do the allocation for you." 

Catra's life is over. It was way too short, but she thinks it was kind of decent while it lasted.

"—tra? Catra!" Scorpia's voice breaks through her haze of misery, her hand shaking her shoulder to get her attention. 

Catra brushes her hand off and sighs. "I guess I'll just email her then." At Scorpia's inquiring and confused look, she says, "No one's going to group up with me."

"Don't be silly, we're in this together!" Scorpia says, patting her arm reassuringly. "Just that it may only be the two of us, ahaha..." 

"I guess we can email her and ask to be placed in the same group, but knowing her..." Catra tilts her head back and sighs. "You sure you don't mind? It's okay if you want to join another group, I'm totally fine with it." 

"I'm sticking with you!" Scorpia insists. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Catra spares a moment to be grateful for Scorpia. Despite the rocky start to their friendship, they always have each other's backs. Catra has a tendency to push people away when she feels vulnerable, but Scorpia has always been by her side, as steadfast and unyielding as a rock. 

"Oh. Thanks, I appreciate it," Catra says, words foreign on her tongue, but over the course of their friendship, she has learned to express herself better. _I appreciate you_ , the words left unsaid, but Scorpia hears it anyway and smiles back at her.

"Instead of emailing her right away, why don't we try to find a group first?" Scorpia suggests.

"Everyone in the group is going to get a bad grade because Shadow Weaver hates me, though." 

"But what if we group with someone whom she actually likes? Then she probably won't grade us too harshly."

"Ha, Professor Shadow Weaver actually liking someone? Who does she—" Catra finally realizes who Scorpia is hinting at. "No, Scorp! I mean. She's not going to— She won't want to—"

Scorpia makes sense, but still. Catra has her pride.

"She seems quite nice, doesn't she! We can try asking her? No harm in asking, right?"

 _No harm?_ Catra thinks almost hysterically, heart almost beating out of her chest, _what about my heart?_

_What am I going to do if she just laughs right in our faces?_

_Okay, that would be kinda cute, actually._

Scorpia sees the glazed expression on Catra's face, probably lost in yet another daydream about Adora, and she slips away quietly to recruit three perfectly normal classmates. (In hindsight, she would not use the word "normal" to describe two out of three of them. She is pretty sure that murdering someone will automatically put them in the "abnormal" category.)

After Catra's daydream takes a turn where their relationship meets a dead-end because Adora filed a restraining order against her, she finally wakes with a start. Groupmates? Not a good idea. "Scorp, I don't think—" she says out loud, before realizing that Scorpia is nowhere to be seen.

With a sinking heart, Catra directs her gaze to the front row of the lecture hall, her head instinctually adopting the precise tilt and angle required to get a view of Adora.


	2. Chapter 2

Bow and Glimmer are seated beside Adora and listening to Scorpia, who is standing in front of them and gesticulating wildly, being ever friendly and overly enthusiastic. Adora appears to be listening as well, but then she turns around in her seat, scanning the back of the lecture hall as if searching for something.

Catra looks away immediately, heart thumping wildly. Her hands, usually steady and controlled, shake a little, and she plays off her nervousness by using them to smooth her hair down. Her wild mane is untameable, so she gives up.

She takes a quick peek again, only to see Adora looking directly at her.

Catra tries to decipher her expression but fails. Adora does not seem to be annoyed, which Catra counts as a win, but her inscrutable expression gives nothing away.

Suddenly, she remembers that _social niceties_ are a thing—a little too late, in her opinion. She attempts to shoot her a friendly and polite smile, but.

The wires in her brain must have gotten crossed somewhere all because _Adora is staring at her_.

The muscles in her face twitch, but in an unfamiliar way, not because she rarely smiles, but because _what she is doing now is definitely not smiling_. It is probably more of a grimace which then morphs into something that makes her look a little deranged. 

Did Adora just _snort?_

Oh god, Catra is gone. Deceased.

_Why is Adora so cute._

Catra quickly schools her face back to her default expression, but she must not have been quick enough, because Adora is now in full-blown laughter, shoulders heaving, hands wrapped around her stomach as if it hurt to laugh that hard.

Bow, Glimmer, and Scorpia look at one another, shooting worried and confused glances at Adora's inexplicable laughter. Scorpia especially looks like she regrets everything because Adora has clearly lost it.

How did Catra even manage to fuck up so badly? Within the span of a few seconds, she has made an utter fool of herself _and_ ruined their chances of forming a group. 

There Scorpia is, trying her best to get them out of the mess Catra got them in, and Catra, in her total inability to _smile_ , has reduced their chances of forming a group from zero to somewhere in the negatives.

Catra just wants to walk out of the lecture hall and leave Scorpia there.

Unfortunately, Scorpia is her friend, and Catra wants to know what they are talking about, and maybe—only maybe—she wants to get closer to Adora, so she makes her way there reluctantly. She feels her soul slip away with every step she takes towards them.

When she finally reaches them, she tries to hide behind Scorpia, who is giving her best elevator pitch, saying something about their work ethic and grades. Unfortunately, when Scorpia catches sight of her, she wraps an arm around her shoulders and pushes her in front. "And this is Catra!"

Catra sees three curious pairs of eyes turn to meet her, and she dies a little inside.

Scorpia nudges her softly, and it is when she realizes that she should probably say something instead of standing there creepily. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she goes for it. "HEY GUYS," she says, and they wince slightly at her lack of volume control. _Oh god, that came out louder than expected. Okay, try again, say: Nice to meet you._ But to her absolute horror, what comes out is, "Niece to feed you."

After a moment or two, when she finally registers what she just said, she feels her face burn hotly, all the way from her neck to the tips of her ears. No wonder no one has responded. "I'M SORRY. I meant, nice to meet you."

Scorpia, bless Scorpia, carries on blithely as if everything is perfectly fine, "We can feed you too! I work at a coffee shop and Catra works at a bubble tea shop..." And then the mood goes back to normal, and Catra can finally breathe again.

 _This is so awkward_ , Catra thinks. She looks to one side, happening to catch Adora's eyes again. Adora looks at her with a small smile on her face, mouth twitching in a way that makes Catra think that she is reliving the memory of her unfortunate face and/ or mouth spasm in her mind. 

Catra flushes and ducks her head, only lifting it when she hears Scorpia go on a tangent about how they can get drinks at a discount. She rolls her eyes and nudges Scorpia in the side with her elbow. Even if nothing is too low for her, she does not need to stoop to bribery to recruit potential groupmates. She is not that desperate. Yet. She takes a deep breath and asks the dreaded question, "Do you want to work on the econ project together?"

 _Perfect execution,_ she thinks. _Good volume, correct words, no stammering,_ even though her tongue feels too big for her mouth, and her heart is thumping wildly in her chest. She waits for the rejection coming their way and looks down, shoes scuffing the floor. 

She knows how popular the trio is. Bow is the son of two professors in their university, and Glimmer is the daughter of the Dean. Many people—students and staff alike—want to get in their good graces, even if the idea sounds a bit sketchy to Catra.

What makes them any different? Probably nothing.

However, the rejection she is anticipating does not arrive.

Actually, there is no response from any of them, so Catra looks up. 

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer are locked in a silent but heated conversation involving their eyes, eyebrows, and hands.

Catra and Scorpia stare at the silent but expressive display, half-impressed and half-confused. Scorpia looks at her with one eyebrow raised, so Catra makes a face and shrugs in return. 

If the three of them are able to carry out an entire conversation without words, the two of them can do it too, albeit one that is much more straightforward: _What the fuck are they doing? I have no idea._

Catra does not know why their discussion is taking so long. Maybe they are discussing the best way to reject them? Possibly with a dash of public humiliation?

She sees the stubborn tilt to Adora's chin and the small frown on her forehead, while Bow and Glimmer's expressions are becoming more pinched, and their gestures are getting increasingly frantic.

Adora opens her mouth, preparing to say something, _finally_. However, when Bow and Glimmer catch sight of that, they shoot each other twin looks of dismay. 

Bow says, "Excuse us for a while—" 

"We need to decide this _together,_ " Glimmer says, looking pointedly at Adora, " _as a group._ " 

The three of them move a few steps away then huddle together and talk in furious whispers. They are not as discreet as they imagine themselves to be, as Catra overhears their words, "... crop top... Weaver... not fair..." 

_What the fuck? Are they saying it's not fair that Shadow Weaver looks good in a crop top?_ She must have misheard them, surely.

Bow and Glimmer finally relent after Adora refuses to back down even after a hard stare by Glimmer and a searching look by Bow. 

Satisfied, Adora marches back to Catra and Scorpia. "Sorry about that, we would love to work on the project with you two!" She smiles brightly at them, a lopsided grin that draws attention to the dimple on her right cheek.

Catra tries, and fails, not to stare at the dimple on her dorky face.

"Oh!" Scorpia gasps in surprise. "That'll be great, thank you!"

"No problem!" Adora smiles. "Since we're all here, we can create a group chat now?"

Scorpia nods, and rattles off her phone number, and nudges Catra, who finally stops thinking about Adora's stupidly cute _dimple_. She gives her number and shoots a small smile at Adora. "Thanks," she says, then glances over at Bow and Glimmer. "Are they okay with it?"

Adora looks a little surprised, but she gives her a small smile. "Yep, no worries. They're cool with it!"

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**Adora🌻:** Hello everyone, I'm Adora :)

 **bow🏹:** hi everyone !! i'm bow!!

 **Scorpiaaa:** Hello, Scorpia here :D

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** HI! I'm Glimmer!

 **catra😈:** hey im catra

 **Adora🌻:** Great!  
**Adora🌻:** I'll let Prof know we've formed a group :)  
**Adora🌻:** [image: email screenshot]

To: shadowweaver@etheria.edu  
Subject: Introduction to Economics Grouping

Dear Professor Shadow Weaver,

As brought up in class today, we have formed a group of five for the research project, consisting of:

Adora, Bow, Catra, Glimmer, and Scorpia

Thank you!

Best regards,  
Adora

**bow🏹:** thx sm adora !!

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**[GROUP CHAT:** 💖 **best friends trio** 💖 **]**

 **Adora🌻:** Omg guys  
**Adora🌻:** Prof replied  
**Adora🌻:** [image: email screenshot]

To: adora@student.etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: Introduction to Economics Grouping

Dearest Adora,

I urge you to reconsider your choice of groupmates. 

While you may not be fully aware of Catra's many personality flaws, I assure you that you will be better off by grouping with others of the same caliber.

If you would like, I could pull some strings and arrange for your group to consist of Bow, Glimmer, Mermista, and Perfuma.

SW

  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Oh...  
 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Well what were we expecting tbh

 **bow🏹:** sw rly has it out for catra huh  
**bow🏹:** "pull some strings" ??? mermista n perfuma are alr in a grp wtf

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Adora, you sure about this?

 **bow🏹:** yea i kno u are like... the most selfless person ever  
**bow🏹:** but it's 60% bro  
**bow🏹:** and we dont even kno her

 **Adora🌻:** I'm sure about her  
**Adora🌻:** Honestly, I don't think she's as bad as what Prof makes her out to be

 **bow🏹:** rly?? u sure it's not bc u liked the crop top she wore during orientation LOLLL

 **Adora🌻:** Omg STOP I really regret telling you guys that. Anyway. She's always early for class  
**Adora🌻:** Remember that time Prof asked a question about macroeconomic shocks  
**Adora🌻:** And she was the only one who could answer it

 **bow🏹:** uh  
**bow🏹:** that happened?? 

**✨GLIMMER✨:** HAHAHA

 **Adora🌻:** It did! Two weeks ago

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** OMG BOWWWW  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** You were probably sleeping AGAIN

 **bow🏹:** lol yea prob

 **Adora🌻:** Yeah, we literally sit in the front row  
**Adora🌻:** But Prof never calls you out on it

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ah, but she has no qualms about calling out other ppl  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Okay, I see where you're coming from  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** SW is wayyy biased, who would've thought 

**bow🏹:** okk  
**bow🏹:** i trust u guys!! :D

 **Adora🌻:** :D :D

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** :D :D :D  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Adora  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** How are you going to reply SW?

 **bow🏹:** "thx but no thx" + "fuck u" lol

 **Adora🌻:** [image: email screenshot]

To: shadowweaver@etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: RE: Introduction to Economics Grouping

Dear Professor Shadow Weaver,

We appreciate your offer; however, we are happy with the current grouping.

Thank you.

Best regards,  
Adora

  
**bow🏹:** 👍👍👍 


	4. Chapter 4

The next Wednesday, at 8:25 am sharp, Catra watches the doors of the economics lecture hall as usual. The anticipation feels slightly different today because Catra is still having difficulty wrapping her head around Adora being their groupmate. Groupmate!

The doors finally open, and Adora walks into the economics lecture hall with Bow and Glimmer, as usual. They are chatting and laughing, being way too cheerful for the class that is held way too early in the morning, as usual. The three of them walk past their usual seats on the front row, as—

_Wait, what?_

Some students have also noticed their unusual behavior. Soft murmurs start spreading around the lecture hall. 

Eyes tracking them avidly, Catra watches intently as they walk towards the back of the lecture hall. 

_Huh. Weird._

Finally, they stop. In front of Catra. The murmurs have grown in volume, to almost a frantic buzzing. For a moment, they look at her, and she looks back. 

Catra opens her mouth to speak because the rational part of her brain urges her to be polite and invite them to sit, but between Adora's bright blue eyes and the loud pounding of her heart, the words get lost halfway through her throat, leaving her gaping like an idiot. 

Adora takes the lead. "Hi, Catra! Are the seats taken?" 

Bow and Glimmer, previously engrossed in their conversation, look at her and give her a little wave.

Catra swallows and her throat starts working, finally. "Oh. No, they're not. Scorpia's sitting here though." She gestures at the seat on her left where she has placed her bag.

"Okay, we'll sit beside you guys then!" Adora takes the seat on Catra's right while Bow and Glimmer sit beside Scorpia's seat, their bodies turning to face each other as they continue their heart-to-heart.

Catra darts a look at Adora, who is taking out her notes and pencil case from her bag. She also follows suit, body working on autopilot. In a stilted voice, she finally asks, "So, uh, why are the three of you sitting here today?"

"Aren't we all in the same group? It's easier for us to discuss things," Adora says, and okay, that makes sense, then she continues earnestly, "but also, we can get to know one another too. Who knows, maybe we'll all become best friends!"

Such innocuous words, but as Catra looks at the hopeful smile on Adora's face, a thought, unbidden, comes to her mind—

_I don't want all of us to be best friends._

_I want to be yours, and you to be mine._

Catra kind of hates herself. 

She silently banishes the selfish and presumptuous thoughts from her head. She may be in a little too deep, but she _can_ and she _will_ put her own feelings aside. 

She takes a deep breath to strengthen her resolve. With a voice that wavers a little and a smile that feels too brittle, she says, "Yeah, friends."

* * *

Scorpia finally enters the lecture hall, looking surprised to find three new seatmates. Ever since The Incident happened during the first Introduction to Economics lecture, everyone else has given Catra a wide berth. 

She reaches them and smiles widely. "Hi, groupmates!" She pats Catra on the shoulder as she sits down, looking at Catra curiously, having caught sight of her leaden expression.

"Hey, Scorp. Here." Catra hands over Scorpia's earl grey milk tea. Every odd week, Catra buys tea for both of them, and every even week, Scorpia is the one who buys coffee. 

Scorpia was the one who kickstarted their little tradition. During the second Introduction to Economics lecture, when nobody would sit next to Catra, Scorpia was the only one who plonked down next to her and passed over a cup of coffee.

Catra, unwilling to be in anyone's debt, brought her a cup of tea the next week.

Catra is secretly glad that they have developed such a routine (not that she will ever say that to Scorpia) because friendship does not come easily to her.

Speaking of friends, Catra turns to Adora, who is observing their exchange with a slight crease on her forehead. "Do you want—" she starts to ask, gesturing at the drinks. "Um, we take turns to buy them every week."

"Oh, uh, I don't want to impose?" Adora says uncertainly, looking back and forth between Catra and Scorpia.

Before Catra can reply, Professor Shadow Weaver walks in, so she makes an absentminded noise of acknowledgment and turns towards her notes. 

At the end of the lecture, Professor Shadow Weaver announces the requirements for their group research project, so Catra notes them down:

> **Group Research Project**
> 
> To submit  
>  \- Project Plan (500 words max)  
>  \- Final Report (5000 words max)
> 
> Content  
>  \- Any economics topic taught in class  
>  \- Include primary and/ or secondary data

Catra looks at the guidelines. They seem awfully vague, but the submission requirements appear to be relatively easy, so she thinks it will be fine.

After Professor Shadow Weaver leaves, Glimmer turns to the rest of them and asks, "Should we meet up someday for the project?"

"Yeah, let us know when we should meet? Our next lecture is starting soon," Bow says, hurriedly rushing off with an arm around Glimmer.

"Okay, we can brainstorm beforehand, then meet up to decide on one?" Catra says.

"Sounds good, let's do our research and meet up in a few days then." Adora suggests, "What about Friday? The three of us are free."

"Sure, in the afternoon, around 2?" Scorpia says, "I have a class in the morning." 

The three of them nod in agreement, so Catra takes out her phone and types a message in the group chat:

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**catra😈:** grp meeting on fri, 2 pm, to decide on a research topic  
**catra😈:** each of us to brainstorm for ideas beforehand

 **bow🏹:** okk, yea we can make it, thx catra !! :)

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Thanks!

* * *

Catra and Scorpia usually have lunch together after the economics lecture, but since Adora has expressed an interest in being... friends, Catra extends an invitation to her. "Do you want to have lunch with us?"

"Sounds good! I'm so hungry," Adora bemoans, "Why does Prof have to talk so much?"

Catra wholeheartedly agrees, "Oh my god, yes. I thought it was never going to end." 

She turns around to see why Scorpia is taking so long to pack her things, only to freeze. She knows most of Scorpia's expressions by now because her face is an open book, and _she does not like that look on her face_.

Scorpia is many things, but subtle is not one of them. She looks between them in what she thinks is a covert and discreet glance, but it ends up being a loaded and pointed stare.

Oh god, she might as well have waggled her eyebrows at them, that was just how subtle Scorpia was.

"Haha, sorry guys, I actually have a... thing I have to do today?" Scorpia says weakly, cowering slightly under the weight of Catra's glare. "You two have fun!" Then she just turns around and runs away. 

Catra is going to murder her.


	5. Chapter 5

Catra is going to postpone her plans to murder Scorpia, because she may not live long enough to do that.

Catra originally planned for their lunch to be short and sweet. They would talk about the classes they were taking, and maybe brainstorm a few economics topics they could cover in the research project. Perhaps, if the conversation went well, they would move on to other safe topics, like hobbies, pets, etcetera. 

Some people are better off as friends, right? Her unwieldy feelings could be preventing her from developing a great friendship with Adora. 

Catra is both right and wrong at the same time. She should have known that nothing in her life goes according to plan.

She is comfortable, for one. She imagined the conversation to be stilted and awkward, saying things just for the sake of making polite conversation. She takes time to warm up to people, and talking to a near stranger for a prolonged period makes her jittery and anxious.

But Adora somehow has the magical ability to understand her, touching on topics that are enjoyable and engaging for both of them. She shows genuine interest in her responses and never oversteps. The words flow, and they talk about anything and everything. 

Catra feels warm and relaxed in Adora's company, comfortable enough to banter with gleeful abandon. As Adora recounts her first meeting with Bow and Glimmer which ends up with her being sent to the Dean's office, Catra bursts into boisterous laughter. "No way! I can't believe you— And then her mum just— Oh my god."

Catra is wheezing so hard that she can hardly catch her breath. She misses the way Adora stares oddly at her, eyes flicking down to her lips for a brief moment. 

When Catra can finally breathe, she sees Adora pout adorably, but then the corners of her mouth quirk up. "That wasn't even the worst of it— Afterwards, Bow's dads—"

"Wait, what?" At Catra's wide eyes and incredulous tone, Adora bursts into a bout of laughter.

Catra flushes at the sight of Adora laughing, interspersed with little snorts, and stares at the light blush on her cheeks. 

She lets the sound of her carefree laughter wash over her. _How will I ever get over you?_

When their food finally arrives, they reach for the bottle of ketchup at the same time, Adora's hand partially over hers, and Catra can feel the warmth of her fingers and the smooth pads of her fingertips. The brush, a little too prolonged, feels more like a caress. 

Catra's hand twitches and shoots back to her side in panic, studiously avoiding her eyes. She feels shaky thinking about the sensation of _Adora's hand_ over hers, heart thumping loudly in her ears. She glances up to see Adora holding her gaze intently, offering some ketchup to her, one eyebrow cocked in a silent question.

She has to swallow twice to get her throat to work. "Just a little, thanks."

Other than those heart-stopping moments when Catra thought she would combust, their lunch not-date goes swimmingly well. They fit, in a way Catra has never felt with anybody else, their minds on the same wavelength.

Her feelings, previously buried deep within her, bubble up to the surface whenever Adora says something particularly witty, or when the corners of her lips quirk slightly before she laughs, or when her eyes crinkle a little when she smiles.

She is in both heaven and hell. Simultaneously. Is that even possible? 

Staring at her rosy cheeks, a passing thought flashes through her mind. 

_What if we were more?_

 _We could be, if you let me._

Catra kind of wants to laugh and cry all at once. She can imagine it as clear as day—their faces close, lips brushing like a whisper, the two of them against the world—

For all her intent and resolve, Catra tries, she really does, but she does not—cannot—get over it. Her feelings, ever-growing, do not subside. They spiral out of control, even as the world crumbles down all around her.

* * *

Catra is not hiding in the restroom.

She is not, okay. It is just... a small detour before she attends her next lecture.

She is slumped against a restroom stall, chest heaving, heart rate through the roof. She tries to catch her breath, but her throat is constricted, not letting her get enough air in.

No matter how many times she repeats her mantra like a lifeline, _Adora doesn't want me, not like I want her,_ the inkling of hope never quite fades. Why? Because Adora is giving her _signs._ When her hand brushes against hers, cruel hope flares for a moment until she squashes it down, only for it to reappear with a vengeance when her gaze lingers on her. 

It is really fucking confusing. Do friends usually do these things? Catra has no idea—she has limited experience with relationships, whether platonic or romantic. 

With shaky hands and sweaty palms, she takes out her phone from her stupidly tight jeans pocket while fumbling with it. It takes three tries before she manages to unlock her phone.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Scorpia]**

**catra😈:** scorp hel p im freakign out

 **Scorpiaaa:** What’s wrong? Want me to call you?

 **catra😈:** icannt breathe


	6. Chapter 6

Catra's phone vibrates with an incoming call. She accepts the call, eyes blurry with unshed tears. Her breathing is ragged, overly fast, and she cannot get enough air into her lungs. She knows that Scorpia can hear her gasping for breath, but it is the least of her worries because _she cannot breathe and she is about to pass out in this stupid restroom and no one will find her—_

“Catra, it’s me.” Scorpia says, voice soothing and calm. “Listen to me. Take a deep breath.” 

Catra can hear Scorpia breathing over the phone, her breaths deep and measured, loud enough for her to hear over the blood rushing in her ears.

She presses the palm of her hand over her eye and squeezes her eyes shut in frustration. She tries to concentrate on Scorpia’s breathing as she grips her phone like a lifeline. In, out, in, breaths steady and calm. She takes a shaky breath and forces herself to exhale. She gulps in more air, repeating the whole process.

Slowly, her breaths even out. 

However, as consciousness comes back to her, she just feels awful—too exposed, too vulnerable. It thrusts her back into the jarring memories of her childhood, helpless and weak, at the mercy of her foster parents. _They were right after all,_ she thinks hysterically, _she is just a burden. She does not need anyone’s help; she can do it alone—_

“I’m here for you, Catra.” Hearing that her breathing has begun to pick up again, Scorpia continues blithely, “Do you know who I had lunch with today?”

Thankful for the distraction, Catra breathes out shakily. “Who?”

“Perfuma!”

Catra bites back a groan because _Perfuma._ They have a long and difficult history and she does not know how Scorpia fails to see how evil she is. But Scorpia seems to like her, so she makes an effort to play nice, “Yeah? How was it?”

Scorpia’s words wash over her, and Catra pays more attention to the timbre of her voice rather than her words. She gets a little lost in her bubble, only jolting back into the conversation when Scorpia asks, “—wanna go?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure.”

“Oh, serious? Okay, let’s go together!”

Having missed the entire conversation, Catra nibbles on her lower lip and hesitantly asks. “Uh. When is it again?”

“Friday evening. Ooh, we can invite the rest of our group too!”

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure they’d like to go.”

“Yay, I’ll let Perfuma know! You feeling better?”

“Much better,” Catra says gratefully. “I’m fine now.”

Scorpia hums, then there is silence, giving her a chance to talk if she wants to.

With Scorpia as a comforting presence, Catra finally feels steady enough. She stammers out, “Um, I think... she’s kinda giving me... signs? Then my brain just freaked out,” because of all the what-ifs.

Scorpia makes a noise of acknowledgment, so Catra continues, eyebrows furrowing as she sorts out her thoughts. “As in, there’s no way she”—she swallows—“likes me, but I’m getting mixed signals.”

“You should test the waters then! Make a move, see if she responds.”

Catra flushes. “How do I, uh, do that?” 

Right as the question leaves her lips, she wants to take it back. She already knows Scorpia’s answer, because her love language? Physical touch.

“Give her a big hug!”

Catra bursts out in laughter, tension dissipating from her body. _Oh my god. Of course._

“Rude, Catra!" But Scorpia's tone is teasing, playful. "Why are you laughing?!”

“I can’t just... hug her, Scorp! It’s creepy and invasive.”

“That’s why you gotta read the mood!” 

Easy for Scorpia to say, she has been the biggest hugger since forever. Showing physical affection does not come naturally to Catra. She never initiates hugs, and when people try to hug her, she either shies away or just stands there, as stiff as a board.

“Oh my god. It’s okay, I’ll think of something. Thanks, Scorp.”

“Anytime, Catra! I believe in you!”

* * *

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**bow** 🏹 **:** we’re meeting at 2 pm tmr rite?

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Yep  
✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Should we post our suggestions here so we know what we're going to discuss tomorrow?

 **bow** 🏹 **:** okk sounds gd !!  
**bow** 🏹 **:** glimmer n i came up w/ this topic while looking at the moonstone last nite hehe

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Uhhhhh. ANYWAY  
✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** The Runestones are Etheria's energy sources, but the energy they supply is limited

 **bow** 🏹 **:** w/ population growth n everyth... demand for energy keeps increasing

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** So we can try to find out how much more efficient our plants need to be to meet future demand

 **bow** 🏹 **:** :)

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** :)

 **Scorpiaaa:** Haha, you guys are so cute!

 **Adora🌻:** Lol

 **Scorpiaaa:** I've been thinking about the time Prof mentioned how econ majors are more selfish than others  
**Scorpiaaa:** We can use game theory to test for 'selfishness', e.g. the prisoner's dilemma game we did in class

 **catra😈:** o that sounds fun

 **Scorpiaaa:** Btw, Perfuma is inviting us over to her place for dinner tomorrow! She’s ordering PIZZA :D

 **catra😈:** VEGGIE PIZZA, SCORP

 **bow** 🏹 **:** veggie pizza is still pizza !!

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** We’re in :)

 **Adora🌻:** Sounds good!  
**Adora🌻:** Catra and I were thinking about doing a study on the Horde

 **bow** 🏹 **:** isn’t the horde some mafia organization???

 **Scorpiaaa:** You and Catra???

 **catra😈:** er 

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Funny how you two are focusing on totally different things

 **catra😈:** anyway.  
**catra😈:** the horde is one of the biggest economic agents in etheria, but bc their activities are illegal, their impact on the economy can't be measured by conventional means  
**catra😈:** we can try to identify and quantify the effects of mafia spread, e.g. on the underground economy

 **Adora🌻:** :)

 **catra😈:** :)

 **Scorpiaaa:** Oho?

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Scorpia]**

**catra😈:** NO

 **Scorpiaaa:** Hahaha, so cute  
**Scorpiaaa:** Do it with me too!  
**Scorpiaaa:** :)

 **catra😈:** no

 **Scorpiaaa:** Boooo

 **catra😈:** er btw  
**catra😈:** when did perfuma even invite all of us

 **Scorpiaaa:** When we had lunch on Wednesday~

 **catra😈:** o  
**catra😈:** fuck

 **Scorpiaaa:** What’s wrong?

 **catra😈:** u mean u got invited  
**catra😈:** and she grudgingly extended an invitation to me at ur request  
**catra😈:** hoping that i’d say no as per usual

 **Scorpiaaa:** Perfuma is perfectly nice, Catra

 **catra😈:** but it turned out to be FOUR of us crashing ur date  
**catra😈:** o dear,,, poor perfuma :’(  
**catra😈:** she prob wanted u to say u only want to spend time with her <3

 **Scorpiaaa:** It’s not a date!!

 **catra😈:** well duh  
**catra😈:** it’s not gonna be one with four extras there

 **Scorpiaaa:** See you tomorrow >:(

 **catra😈:** :)

* * *

Friday, 2 pm

During the group meeting, they decide to go with Scorpia's idea for the research project, about whether economics majors are more self-interested than other majors. The decision was unanimous—it was the only topic that allowed them to collect primary data through experiments. They divide the project plan into several sections, then hunker down to do their own research.

Catra adopts her usual sitting posture, which is more of a sprawl, one leg over the armrest and invading Scorpia's space. Restless, she keeps adjusting her posture, trying to find the most comfortable position. 

Scorpia finally gets fed up with her fidgeting and flicks her leg, "Catra, can you please sit properly?" She scans their surroundings, noticing how Adora is sitting primly and properly, a complete opposite to Catra who is sprawling all over. "Look at how straight Adora is—"

"I'm not straight though," Adora offhandedly remarks. Her eyes are glued to her screen; she is entirely engrossed in her work. 

Four heads swivel to look at her. No one blinks. 

Scorpia stops trying to flick Catra's leg away and pats her leg enthusiastically as if there was any chance Catra did not hear that. She is too stunned to swat her hand away. 

_Adora is not straight???_

Finally noticing that something is amiss, Adora finally looks up with a confused expression on her face. "Hm?"

Bow and Glimmer look at each other. Glimmer starts, "Uh, Adora, they're not really talking about—"

"That kind of straightness, haha," Bow continues sheepishly.

Adora peers at them cluelessly.

Scorpia hurriedly says, "It's all cool though! Same for me." After a quick look at Catra who nods dazedly, still processing the information, "Catra too."

Adora blinks, still a little lost. She narrows her eyes at Scorpia's hand which is now resting on Catra's leg. "Yeah, I kind of got that."

Catra and Scorpia look at each other in confusion, perplexed at her annoyed demeanor. Maybe she did not mean to share that information with them? 

_Or..._

_Can it be?_

Catra picks up Scorpia’s hand and tosses it over to her side unceremoniously, ignoring Scorpia’s yelp. She swings her leg back and crosses it over the other, watching Adora track the movement avidly, sullen expression fading.

_Hmm. Interesting._

The five of them work in companionable silence. They have good chemistry, and their work flows effortlessly. In just a few hours, they are huddling around Glimmer's laptop, finalizing their project plan.

"Okay, sent!” Glimmer cheers. “Now we just have to wait for Prof's feedback.”

“That’s going to take some time,” Catra says, cocking an eyebrow at Scorpia. “One week? Two weeks?”

Scorpia sighs loudly. “We’re not betting on this again, Catra.” 

“That’s because you always lose, Scorp!”

“One week,” Adora interjects, looking between them with a stubborn tilt to her jaw.

“I’m betting two weeks then,” Catra cheers internally because she is nothing but competitive. She eggs her on. “I gotta warn you first, I never lose.”

“Oh yeah?” Adora grins, and the dimple on her cheek does something funny to Catra’s insides. “Scared to bet against me, Catra? Scared you’ll... lose to me?”

“Me, scared? Pshh, you’re so going down.” Catra smiles, cracking her knuckles slowly, eyes never leaving hers.

“Guys—” Bow's eyes dart between Adora and Catra, muscles tense, as though thinking of launching himself between the two of them.

“Leave them be,” Scorpia murmurs to him, watching their interaction with keen eyes. “They’re having fun.” 

Bow and Glimmer look at her incredulously.

Adora smirks and raises an eyebrow, stepping closer until she is almost toe to toe with Catra. “You wish. What are you going to do when you lose?”

Catra tilts her head up to meet Adora’s eyes. She mock pouts, watching Adora’s eyes flick down to her lips. “ _When_ I lose? That will never happen, hahaha.” 

Catra’s laugh is _pure evil,_ but Adora looks at her with fond eyes and a dazed expression on her face, as if she is laughing demurely like an innocent maiden rather than cackling evilly like the wicked witch.

“PIZZA TIME!” Glimmer yells, tired of Adora’s cognitive dissonance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Unofficial Chapter 7:**[ **SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697963)  
>  (I wrote it then decided that I didn't want their first kiss to go this way, haha.)
> 
> Thank you for your support! I love your comments so much, they make my day 🥺🤗 [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	7. Chapter 7

As expected, Perfuma looks overjoyed to see Scorpia, but her face falls when she sees Catra lurking— _not_ hiding—behind her. Catra does not know how Scorpia fails to notice how positively evil her glare can be. But she is not _scared_ of Perfuma, okay. Perfuma just makes her a little nervous because she can probably see through her emotions in just one glance. 

The glare is quickly wiped away when Scorpia bounds to the doorway and extends her arms out to Perfuma, enveloping her in a big hug. The hug drags on because they are two very physically affectionate people. The rest of them wait awkwardly outside the door, looking at one another in silence, not knowing what to do. 

Adora looks curiously at Perfuma and Scorpia, then back at her, eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. 

"Yeah, they're always like that. They're both _huggers_." Catra shudders. After a few moments, she rolls her eyes and shoves the pair away from the doorway because she is starving.

Perfuma glowers at her over Scorpia's shoulder, but Catra's shove has made them even closer, so Perfuma should be thanking her instead. 

They enter Perfuma’s cozy single dorm room which suddenly feels too packed with the six of them. They make their way to the only table in the room, inching their way carefully so as not to bump into her random assortment of plants and crystals. Perfuma claims they are arranged in the most optimal configuration for good vibes and positive energy, but given how everybody is trying not to fall over their own feet, they seem to be more stress-inducing instead.

They finally reach the food after successfully passing the agility training course without much bodily harm. Everyone grabs a slice of pizza, pretending not to notice the bowl of party kale lying in the middle of the table.

“How do the two of you know Perfuma?” Glimmer asks, mouth full of pizza.

“We do have friends, Glimmer,” Catra retorts, sneaking a look at Adora who is just beside her. “We’re not total losers.” Most of the time.

“She didn’t mean it like that,” Bow interjects hurriedly. “More of like. How did you two get invited to her room?”

_Uh._

_Was that phrased any better?_

Catra opens her mouth to say that the four of them have unwittingly crashed their not-date date night but closes it when she realizes that Perfuma may not want them to know about it. 

“We’ve known one another for some time. I just tag along for the food.” Catra shrugs. “What about you guys?”

Adora says, “Same orientation group. Perfuma really helped to keep the team spirit up.”

Catra scoffs.

“I didn’t bother going after the first day. It’s such a waste of time.” 

Bow says, “It wasn’t all that bad!” He shoots a secretive smile at Glimmer, but concedes, “The etiquette talks were really useless, though.” 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure most of us know how to email professors, hahaha.” Glimmer grins back at him. The two of them are in their own world, lost in their reminiscence. 

“Not everyone has a parent who is a _Dean,_ Glimmer.” Catra says, sounding strangely defensive.

“What does that have to d—” Glimmer retorts.

“Huh.” Adora suddenly says, looking at Catra. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“What?” Catra asks, wiping her hands on her jeans.

“You’re the one who sent that email to Prof Shadow Weaver.”

“That was you?” Glimmer exclaims with wide eyes.

“What email?” Bow asks, totally lost.

Catra’s face turns crimson red and it is answer enough. She groans, “How was I supposed to know that she’d be such an ass about it?!”

Adora and Glimmer burst into laughter. 

“Oh my god, it’s common sense, Catra!” Glimmer yells, tears streaming down her face from laughing too hard.

Adora, still chuckling, turns to Bow. “Prof complained about receiving a rude email from one of us, she screenshotted it and everything.”

“She made a whole slideshow and spent like thirty minutes lecturing us on email etiquette.” Glimmer rolls her eyes. “It was the first day of econ, Bow! How were you already sleeping in class?”

Bow grimaces. “It was kinda boring, I just zoned out...”

Catra crosses her arms and pouts. How Professor Shadow Weaver can hold a grudge for so long still amazes her till this day.

Adora pats her on the shoulder comfortingly and winks. “It’s okay, no one else knows it’s you.”

Glimmer snorts. “Only because you didn’t even sign off with your name!”

They burst into another round of helpless laughter. 

“Ohh, so that’s why Prof...” Bow starts, but he shuts up when Catra narrows her eyes at him. The email fiasco, together with The Incident that happened on the first lecture, officially landed her on Professor Shadow Weaver's blacklist. Permanently.

Some friends they are. 

_Friends._ She darts a quick look at Adora, whose face is flushed pink from laughing. Little snorts intersperse her carefree laughter like she is not trying very hard to stop herself from making fun of Catra. She is still giggling even after Glimmer has caught her breath, leaving the three of them to look at her in varying degrees of concern.

“Ooh! What’s going on here?” Perfuma joins their loose circle, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Is it making-fun-of-Catra time?”

Catra buries her face in her hands and groans. 

“No!”

Adora grins at Perfuma and bumps her shoulder against Catra’s.

“Perfuma! Remember the e—”

Catra’s head whips up to stare Adora down, hoping that her meanest expression will be enough to stop Adora from spilling yet another one of her social failings, but luck is not on her side. 

Adora takes one look at her face and has to bite on her lip to stop herself from succumbing to another round of laughter. She pauses momentarily to smirk at Catra, raising an eyebrow in an obvious dare. _How are you going to stop me?_

Catra feels the corners of her lips curve up in response. _I’ll shut you up._

She turns to face Adora, blocking her from view. Then, she tilts her head up until their faces are mere inches apart, not missing the way Adora’s eyes widen in surprise.

She raises her right hand to cup Adora’s cheek gently. Trailing her fingers toward her mouth, she whispers breathlessly, “Adora,” and hears her sharp intake of breath.

Then, she rests her index finger against her lips—how are they so _soft_ —in a shushing gesture. 

“Shhh.”

Adora’s smile freezes for a second, then it transforms into something cheekier. While maintaining eye contact with Catra, she parts her lips slowly. Her tongue darts out to lick her finger—a long, slow swipe all the way up—before lightly sucking on her fingertip.

_Holy shit._

Face flushing hotly, Catra almost yanks her hand back at the sudden wetness. To add insult to injury, her body betrays her in the form of her trembling hand, possibly because her heart is about to beat out of her chest. 

Adora definitely does not miss her response either, because she releases her finger and shoots a lopsided grin at her as if to say, _Is this the best you can do?_

Never one to back down from a challenge, Catra takes a few deep breaths to steady her nerves. She squares her shoulders, mustering up all her competitive spirit. She cocks an eyebrow at Adora. _I’ll make you eat your words._

Without breaking eye contact, Catra runs two fingers over Adora’s lips softly but firmly, nudging her lips apart. She wets her lips in anticipation as her fingers dip slightly into her warm mouth. Adora makes a strangled noise, pink tongue darting out to lick her fingers, looking like she is just moments away from sucking on them again. 

Just a little more. She can do this.

Heart pounding, Catra removes her fingers and closes the distance between them, hearing Adora’s breath stutter. She tilts her head as she leans closer, as if she is going in for a kiss. Adora’s eyes flutter shut as she makes a needy sound, as if she is asking for a kiss. Their lips are mere inches apart.

Okay, that is enough for her plan to work. 

She darts a quick look and reaches out in the direction of the table with her left hand. Someone lets out a silent laugh, realizing what she is searching for, and hurriedly pushes it toward her.

Although...

When she looks at Adora again, she cannot help but stare, entranced, at her parted lips because they complement the pretty pink blush dusting her cheeks so well. 

She should probably take a step back and stop staring at her mouth.

Helpless, she leans closer, pressing their foreheads together. Their lips are just barely touching. At this distance, she can feel the warmth of her breath and lips trying to chase hers, only to meet air. All she needs to do is close the distance and give in. Surrender.

But...

She never loses.

Her left hand finally reaches the slice of pizza laying in the pizza box. In a flash, she grabs it from the box and stuffs it into Adora’s open mouth. “Eat this!”

Startled, Adora’s eyes fly open in surprise, hand shooting up to grab the pizza dangling from her mouth before it falls. Something like disappointment flashes across her face, but it is gone so quickly that it may have just been her imagination. She chews on her pizza, her face still flushing prettily. 

Catra sniggers and moves back to her original spot, studiously avoiding eye contact with anyone lest they see how red her face is.

Adora swallows and clears her throat a few times before saying, “I’ll get you next time.”

_A threat?_

_Or a promise?_

“Feel free to try,” Catra cackles. She hopes that her voice is not as shaky as she feels, but from the snort of laughter from Adora, it is actually as shaky as she feels.

Perfuma interrupts their moment. “I can’t believe you took the last slice of pizza, Catra!” 

“Uh, weren’t you the one—” Bow starts to say, but he breaks off with a yelp when Scorpia jabs him in the side.

Adora tries to offer the half-eaten slice of pizza to Perfuma, but Catra rolls her eyes and guides her hand back to her mouth. “It’s for you. _Perfuma_ can have the kale.” She ignores Perfuma’s screech of protest.

Scorpia swings into action, handing the untouched bowl of kale over to Perfuma. “Have some, your kale is so delicious!”

“Aw, you’re such a dear, Scorp,” Perfuma smiles fondly at her, then turns to shoot a pointed look at Catra. “Unlike someone.”

Eyes widening, Adora offers the pizza to her again, but Catra rolls her eyes and reaches out to take it from her. Holding it in front of her mouth, she murmurs, “I took it for you.”

Adora flushes all the way to the tips of her ears, but she leans forward to nibble on the slice of pizza.

A hand snakes up to hold on to her wrist. “Just in case,” Adora says with a wink, and Catra’s mind immediately flashes back to the way her hand trembled when she sucked on her fingertip, which immediately short-circuits her brain.

She is falling too fast, too deep.

But she does not want to stop.

* * *

On the way out, Catra tells Perfuma, “Scorpia’s been wanting to go to some Heart of Jazz concert. It’s like, next Friday or whatever.”

Perfuma beams at Catra. “Thanks, Catra!”

“No need to thank me, I’m definitely not going to thank you.”

“You kinda did anyway. In your own weird way.”

“I’m not weird, _you’re_ the weird one!”

Catra scowls at Perfuma, she responds by smiling with too much teeth, and all is back to the usual with them.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Adora & Catra]**

**Adora🌻:** Did you get home safely?

 **catra😈:** yea im back in my dorm  
**catra😈:** er  
**catra😈:** wbu?

 **Adora🌻:** Yup, I’m also home :)

 **catra😈:** ok

 **Adora🌻:** ...  
**Adora🌻:** Well...  
**Adora🌻:** This is kinda awkward

 **catra😈:** it isnt awkward if neither of us mentions it

 **Adora🌻:** Hahaha, okay  
**Adora🌻:** You free this weekend?  
**Adora🌻:** Want to work on the econ paper together?

 **catra😈:** hold on lemme check my schedule

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Scorpia]**

**catra😈:** HELP SCOPR  
**catra😈:** SHE WANTSTO STUDY TGT THIS WKEND  
**catra😈:** WHAT DO I SAY???????

 **Scorpiaaa:** Hello to you too  
**Scorpiaaa:** Say you’re free? You literally do nothing over the weekends, lol

 **catra😈:** BUT IT'S SO NERVE WRECKIN G!!!!!  
**catra😈:** OMFG THE CONVO WAS SO AWKWARDD FML  
**catra😈:** IM SUCHA DISASTR 

**Scorpiaaa:** Omg, you’re overthinking again. Just be yourself!  
**Scorpiaaa:** Repeat after me: I can do this!

 **catra😈:** “““PERFUMA CAN DO THIS”””

 **Scorpiaaa:** Omg, are you never going to let that go??

 **catra😈:** never gahahaha u make it too easy,,,

 **Scorpiaaa:** See, there’s no need to stress  
**Scorpiaaa:** yea im free, let’s go! :)  
**Scorpiaaa:** Just copy and paste that^

 **catra😈:** k thx  
**catra😈:** wait  
**catra😈:** is the smiley facetoo much adsjfh

 **Scorpiaaa:** Uh...  
**Scorpiaaa:** From what I saw today  
**Scorpiaaa:** You have nothing to worry about ;)

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Adora]**

**catra😈:** yea im free, let’s go! :)

 **Adora🌻:** Oh, nice!! :)  
**Adora🌻:** What about 2 pm tomorrow?

 **catra😈:** yea  
**catra😈:** ok  
**catra😈:** sure  
**catra😈:** im free  
**catra😈:** see u?  
**catra😈:** see u where

 **Adora🌻:** Hahaha, you’re so cute  
**Adora🌻:** Thaymor Café? It’s just 5 min away from uni

 **catra😈:** ok  
**catra😈:** :)

 **Adora🌻:** See you! :) 

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Scorpia]**

**catra😈:** omg wtffff  


**Scorpiaaa:** Oh no, what happened?

 **catra😈:** how dare she call me CUTE  
**catra😈:** IM DEAD SCORP  


**Scorpiaaa:** Why are you so dramatic??  
**Scorpiaaa:** Have fun on your date, Catra!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you like it 🤗 [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	8. Chapter 8

Saturday, 2.03 pm

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Adora]**

**catra😈:** sry im otw,, abt 2 more min?

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Np, I’m sitting at the booth in the back :)

 **catra😈:** ok, see u

* * *

Catra finally enters the café fashionably late, the overhead bell jangling loudly as she opens the door. The heavenly smell of coffee and baked goods wafts over. She scans the booth seating area for Adora and sees her waving with a bright smile.

Adora is wearing a white turtleneck and high-waisted gray leggings, along with her signature red jacket. Okay, that is her usual outfit, she can totally deal with that. Which is to say, not at all.

Her hair, though. It falls in loose waves around her shoulders, framing her face perfectly.

_Ohhh my god, how is she so pretty???_

Catra swallows twice to clear her throat. “Hey, Adora," she says, sliding into the seat opposite her. "Nice hair.”

Adora flushes and raises a hand to push small wisps of hair away from her face. “Thanks? You too, uh, I like your hair.”

“Uh, thanks?” Catra says, running a hand through her unruly mop of hair, which makes it stick out in all directions. “I preferred it when it was longer, though.”

“Why did you cut it?”

“It’s a long story.” Catra makes a face. “Involving Scorpia"—Adora's face becomes slightly pinched—"Perfuma, and bubble gum.”

“You two... are really close, huh?”

_You **two**._

_Is she asking what I think she’s asking?_

Hoping that she is not reading it wrongly, Catra takes a deep breath and says, “We’re just friends.”

Just three words, but they feel too much and too little at the same time.

"Ohh, I thought...” Adora flushes pink. “Uh, the drinks, and all the... the touch—" She snaps her mouth shut as if realizing how incoherent she is. There is a little crease on her forehead like she is replaying all the _touching_ in her mind.

Catra grips the corner of her seat to dispel the inappropriate urge to use her thumb to smooth out the forehead crease. “It's a thing we do. As friends." _Which you also can do. You're definitely welcome to._ Feeling her face heat up, she admits, "I don't have many friends, so I'm stuck with them."

(But she would not have it any other way.)

"Well, you have me now."

"Haha, you're like, my third friend."

"Friends, yeah," Adora repeats oddly, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I don't— Uh... I mean." She rushes through her next words. "What about da— Are you seeing anyone?”

“Nope.” Before Catra loses her nerve, she asks, “You?”

“Same.”

 _Want to change that?_ is on the tip of her tongue, but she is neither cool nor suave enough to pull that off, so what she says instead is, “Do you want to get a drink?”

“Yep!” Suddenly in a brighter mood, Adora casually slings an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the counter. “I like their chocolate macchiato. What about you?”

“Uh, I usually just get an espresso,” Catra replies, decidedly not thinking about the way her long hair is brushing lightly against her, or that she uses lavender-scented shampoo.

Adora grimaces. “Isn’t that kind of... bitter?”

Catra stops walking and narrows her eyes at her.

“Are you one of those people who only drink coffee with way too much sugar and syrup?” Catra smirks, giving her an obvious once-over, noting her _Adora-ness_ , but it is honestly just an excuse to check her out. “Who am I kidding, you obviously are.”

Watching Adora swell with indignation is kind of funny because her face becomes a funny shade of red. She should do it more often.

Adora rises to her bait and puffs out her chest. “One espresso, please.” She raises an eyebrow at Catra.

“Not bad, Princess.” Turning to the barista, Catra says, “I’ll have a chocolate macchiato, thanks.”

Adora looks a bit envious as the barista starts making the macchiato, her eyes tracking the myriad of syrups and toppings being added to the drink. Catra feels a bit out of her depth because she is used to black coffee and not... that.

“Oh, I didn’t know it’d be this small,” Adora says to her as she collects her tiny cup of espresso.

“That’s what she said.” The words slip out of Catra’s mouth before her brain-to-mouth filter kicks in. Holy shit, she needs to stop spending so much time with Perfuma, who is obviously a bad influence on her. Her wide, guileless eyes may fool everyone else, but she definitely cannot fool Catra. No one would ever believe her, though.

Adora stares at her, eyes wide open in shock, before bursting into laughter. Half of her burning-hot espresso almost spills out. "Shit!"

“Oh my god." Catra hurriedly steadies her hand. "You’re not getting off so easily. Let me.”

"Thanks, Catra," Adora says, looking a little pink.

Once they are seated, she scrutinizes her espresso from every angle. “It isn’t that bitter, right?”

“Nope, not at all,” Catra says, even though it totally is. To add insult to injury, she slurps on her chocolate macchiato and smacks her lips loudly in delight, resisting the urge to make a face at its sweetness.

Adora looks enviously at her macchiato, then turns her gaze back to her espresso. Her tongue darts out to lap at the surface of her drink. All of a sudden, her face scrunches up, her nose wrinkling cutely.

Catra bites her lip to stop herself from laughing, but it ends up being the smuggest grin ever. “It’s really good, right?” 

Adora raises the cup, pursing her lips to take a tiny sip. One second, two seconds... Suddenly, her eyes become comically wide, and Catra can practically see her full-body shudder. It takes her a few more seconds to school her face into a neutral expression, before she bites out, “Yes. It’s... flavorful.”

Catra snorts in disbelief. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself, Princess."

"It's just a little too hot!" A determined expression wipes away the disgust written all over her face. "I like it."

Unwilling to back down from the challenge, she brings the cup to her lips again. With eyes full of resolve, she takes a deep breath and gulps it all down while looking at Catra dead in the eye. The effect is kind of broken when she coughs and sputters while doing so, but somehow, she finishes everything.

She set it down with a loud, “Done!”

“Very impressive,” Catra says while trying not to snicker at the way her tongue is sticking out of her mouth. Adora’s face brightens at the compliment, but her face is a little gray, still reeling from the bitterness of the espresso.

Catra pushes her macchiato over to her. “Here’s your reward.”

Still reeling from the bitterness, Adora takes it with a grateful smile, cheeks hollowing slightly as she chases down the aftertaste of the espresso.

Then, her face suddenly turns pink as she slowly releases the straw from her mouth.

Puzzled, Catra follows her gaze... which lands on the straw. Her straw. The straw that she used.

_Oh my god._

For a full five minutes, they look at everything but each other, until Catra cannot stand the tension any longer.

“Do you want to work on the econ paper?”

“Yeah, okay,” Adora wheezes out in relief. “This is 40% of our total grade, right?”

“Yup.” Catra pulls out her laptop which partially obstructs her flushed face, and she is finally able to breathe properly.

The ambience of the coffee shop is conducive for studying as it is not too crowded, so they can easily tune out the background noise.

“Do you think this makes sense?” Adora asks, turning her laptop around to face Catra.

Catra leans forward and squints at her screen, struggling to read because of the small font. “Hmm... I think this part can be elaborated on further?” She points at the screen, but Adora cannot see what she is gesturing at from that angle.

“Wait, I’ll go over to your side.”

Catra shifts over to make some space and tries not to think about Adora’s warm shoulder pressing against hers even though the booth seat is large enough for at least three people.

“Yeah, you can add a graph for this point about positive externalities.”

Adora makes a face and flips through her folder of notes haphazardly. “Hmm, that’s the...”

“Marginal cost and benefit curves.” Catra takes her folder and flips through her notes. If her hand happens to _casually_ linger on hers during the process, nobody mentions it. “Here, it’s the third topic.”

Adora nudges her side playfully, making Catra turn to face her. “Thanks. You’re so smart.”

Their faces are mere inches apart, and Catra tries really hard to keep eye contact and not think about their close proximity.

“I know.” Catra winks at her then elbows her back in jest.

Adora rolls her eyes and pushes her arm lightly. “So modest, too.”

“Stop. Nudging. Me,” Catra says, a little hypocritically, because she punctuates her words with elbow nudges, hoping to shake off the too-warm hand resting on her arm.

“You stop first!” Adora tries to bat her pointy elbow away before it jabs her in the side.

“Me? You’re the one who started it!” Their notes scatter all over the table, but they pay no attention to it. 

“What are you, five?!”

Somehow, they end up shoving each other and jostling around in their seat, grappling at each other ineffectually. Adora is slightly—just slightly—stronger than her, managing to use her hand to grab hold of her flailing wrist. When she is about to catch hold of her other hand, Catra spots an opportunity. Eyes widening in mischief, she makes a move to swat at her arm, but at the last moment, her hand goes in a different direction. She reaches the side of her body and wiggles her fingers up and down, tickling her mercilessly with scribbling fingers.

“Oh my god, nooo,” Adora tries to control her laughter by biting her lip, but she dissolves into helpless giggles and attempts to squirm away.

Catra tries to shake off the grip on her hand, but Adora still does not release her hold. Time to step up her game. She moves her hand to tickle her stomach, alternating between skittering fingers and slow, teasing strokes.

Adora bursts out in guffaws, tears gathering at the sides of her eyes. “P-please!” She reaches out blindly to search for her hand and somehow manages to grasp it, holding it out of reach of her body.

Catra tries not to stare at Adora’s face which is flushed pink from laughter. She averts her gaze by looking down, which is also a bad idea because Adora’s slender fingers are encircling her wrists. When she makes a move to pull her hands out of her grasp, the hold on her wrists tightens slightly.

Finally catching her breath, Adora waggles her eyebrows suggestively. “So, what should I do with you?”

Catra sticks out her tongue at her, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. “Uh, nothing?”

“Hm, I don’t think so.” Adora smirks and leans closer. “An eye for an eye?”

Catra narrows her eyes at her and prays she does not exact revenge on her.

“Makes the whole world blind.”

She hates being tickled. Yes, she knows she is a hypocrite, so what.

She edges backward subtly to create some space between them. At this distance, she can probably anticipate and hopefully prevent a surprise tickle attack. “You can always... be the better man?”

Unfortunately, Adora shifts closer, caging her between the wall and herself. The air feels palpable with tension, the bustle of the café fading away until it is only the two of them in their own world. It is strangely reminiscent of their little _moment_ last night.

Adora says with a grin, “You know, it feels like we’ve been in this position before.”

“Haha, is that so?” Looks like Adora is not going to let go of that so easily. Catra glances down at their linked hands. Ha, she is not going to let go, literally, too. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Want me to remind you?” Adora whispers. “You seemed pretty into it.”

Catra inhales sharply, her heart stuttering.

Adora’s eyes flick down to her mouth and up again, making it very clear what _reminding her_ actually entails. “If you want to.”

_I want to._

_I want you._

“I don’t—" At her words, Adora releases her hands and moves back, cheeks flushing in mortification. “No! Wait, not no! Oh my god. I mean, I don’t know... how to.” Catra flushes in embarrassment, burying her face in her hands. Fuck, she is such a disaster. For all her bravado, her knowledge is purely derived from passing fantasies and daydreams that mainly feature _her._

“Oh! Uh, same, haha..." Adora trails off, then swallows audibly. "Do you want to... try?”

“Yes,” Catra mumbles into her hands.

“Can’t hear you,” Adora says cheekily as she tugs her hands away from her face, but the lopsided grin on her face suggests otherwise. Her hands are warm, the gentle touch is grounding, but the light contact sets all of her nerves aflame. Running her thumbs over her wrists in small soothing circles, she looks at her patiently.

Catra huffs a laugh and musters up the courage to flirt back. “Come closer, then.”

Adora’s grin fades as she moves in until their faces are mere inches apart again, her eyes fond and tender. She pulls on Catra’s hands to wrap them around her waist, which she does, and then she suddenly recalls Scorpia's advice, _Give her a big hug!_ which is probably what she is doing now. They are way too close, holding each other so intimately, and Catra wants this moment to last forever.

Heart pounding in her chest, Catra watches as Adora reaches to cup her jaw before leaning in, their breaths intermingling. She pauses when their lips are barely touching and whispers, “Still don’t remember what you did yesterday?”

Catra tilts her head to close the distance between their mouths, but the hand on her jaw steadies her head, so her lips only meet air. She tries to chase her lips, but Adora pulls back a little, still waiting for her response.

“I remember,” Catra finally admits.

Adora smiles, her hand moving from her jaw to cradle her head. She finally leans back in, and Catra’s eyes drift shut, feeling her breath ghost over her lips... and... moving past it?

Adora’s hair tickles her shoulder as she presses a chaste kiss to her cheek. “I guess this is payback, then.” She ruffles her hair affectionately before moving back, letting the cool air fill the space she previously occupied.

Breathless, Catra opens her eyes to peek at Adora, who seems unperturbed and totally cool, already back to reading her notes. She takes a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, not trusting her voice to be steady enough to speak.

Two can play at this game.

She raises the back of her hand to cool her flushed cheek, then suddenly realizes that _Adora had kissed her there,_ which makes her feel a little lightheaded.

Without meaning to, her eyes drift to Adora again, who is still staring at the same page, unmoving. The words on the page somehow do not make any sense to Catra, and she feels a sudden jolt of worry at the thought of being in a dream or something, until she realizes that the page is upside down. Her anxiety is further assuaged when Adora raises a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and she sees the red flush on the tip of her ear.

She bites back a grin and turns her attention back to her laptop.

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Hey guys! Prof gave us feedback regarding our project plan  
✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** But when I say feedback, it isn’t ACTUALLY feedback?  
✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** [image: email screenshot]

To: glimmer@student.etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: Introduction to Economics Project Plan (Group 3)

Glitter,

Ok. Pls proceed.

SW

  
**catra😈:** omfgggg...,,,, GLITTER??  
 **catra😈:** GLITTER HOLY FUCKKK

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** HAHAHA

 **bow** 🏹 **:** oh nooo!!!! u poor thing :(

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Ikr, what even >:(

 **bow** 🏹 **:** also,,, “ok. pls proceed.”  
**bow** 🏹 **:** she rly doesnt give a fuck hahaha

 **Scorpiaaa:** At least she said it’s fine!  
**Scorpiaaa:** Kinda...

 **catra😈:** at least she bothered to reply...

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** HAHAHA  
✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Did she seriously block you after that time?

 **catra😈:** lol yea almost  
**catra😈:** she told me never to email her again or she’d take it up to the board for "harassment".........

 **bow** 🏹 **:** oh man wtf :(  
**bow** 🏹 **:** she’s the worst!!

 **catra😈:** wtv, i don’t give a fuck abt her  
**catra😈:** so how should we proceed?

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** We’ve already designed the experiments, so we can start conducting them when the labs are open

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** Okay, I can check their availability next week

 **bow** 🏹 **:** thx glimmer !!~

 **catra😈:** lmaooo bow u misspelled glitter

✨ **GLIMMER** ✨ **:** CATRA NO

 **catra😈:** CATRA YES >:)

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Adora & Catra]**

**Adora** 🌻 **:** How’s your paper going?~

 **catra😈:** i lost all motivation when i got back to my room :(

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Omg, saaame :( I stared at it for 5 min then gave up

 **catra😈:** ughhh ikr!!! im just lazing around now ha

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** It’s okay, we still have time :D  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** Same time, same place, next week?

 **catra😈:** yea sure, otherwise ill die of boredom in my room

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Hahaha, I sure hope that doesn’t happen  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** No roommates to keep you company?

 **catra😈:** nope  
**catra😈:** but the dorm cat comes to visit every now and again :3  
**catra😈:** say hiii [image: dorm cat]

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Aww hellooo  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** It’s so cute!!

 **catra😈:** yea i found him near the dorm bus stop  
**catra😈:** brought him to our uni’s pet welfare society  
**catra😈:** now he just roams around our dorm cluster lol

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** What’s his name?

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Why aren’t you replying

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** CATRA  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** TELL ME HIS NAMEEE

 **catra😈:** no  
**catra😈:** you’re going to make fun of him >:(  
**catra😈:** he’s a sensitive boy

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** I won’t, I promise  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** PLEASE  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** I really need to know!!

 **catra😈:** applesauce  
**catra😈:** meowmeow 

**Adora** 🌻 **:** OMG HAHAHA  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** ARE YOU SERIOUSS?????

 **catra😈:** -___-  
**catra😈:** it’s a cute name.  
**catra😈:** and no i will not be taking any feedback.

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Change of plans  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** Same time, different place, next week  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** I definitely want to meet  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** APPLESAUCE MEOWMEOW

 **catra😈:** is that the only reason u wanna come over?

 **catra😈:** now you’re the one who isn’t replying

 **catra😈:** i see how this is  
**catra😈:** u only want me for my cat :(

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** Haha, it’s definitely not the only reason ;)

 **catra😈:** oh? ;)

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** We made a bet, remember?  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** About when prof would give us feedback on our project plan ;)

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** HELLO?

 **Adora** 🌻 **:** CATRA  
**Adora** 🌻 **:** STOP IGNORING ME OMGGG

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you like it 🤗 [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	9. Chapter 9

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Guysss, we can conduct our experiments on these days~  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** FREE DAYS (WKS 6&7):  
Thursday: Glimmer  
Friday: Bow  
Monday: Bow  
Tuesday: 

**bow🏹:** hehe thx <3

 **Adora🌻:** Aw, you two  
**Adora🌻:** FREE DAYS (WKS 6&7):  
Thursday: Glimmer  
Friday: Bow  
Monday: Bow, Adora  
Tuesday: Adora

 **Scorpiaaa:** FREE DAYS (WKS 6&7):  
Thursday: Glimmer  
Friday: Bow  
Monday: Bow, Adora, Scorpia  
Tuesday: Adora, Scorpia

 **catra😈** FREE DAYS (WKS 6&7):  
Thursday: Glitter, Catra  
Friday: Bow, Catra  
Monday: Bow, Adora, Scorpia  
Tuesday: Adora, Scorpia  
**catra😈** @ **Scorpiaaa:** hmmm i wonder what plans u have on friday ;) 

**Scorpiaaa:** Haha, I’m going to a jazz concert!  
**Scorpiaaa:** Anybody interested in coming along?

 **catra😈** omfg,,,  
**catra😈** nobody reply her.

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Okayyy?  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Nice, we have at least 2–3 people for each day :)  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** @ **catra😈** Did you think I wouldn’t notice what you did to my name. Better watch out on Thursday

 **catra😈** lmaoo wtv,, glitter :p

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Perfuma]**

**catra😈** hey loser

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** hello to you too, loser !!

 **catra😈** why is scorpia is inviting us to the jazz concert

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** oh my gosh...,,,  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** please tell me u didnt invite urself !! again!!

 **catra😈** wtf im not stupid!!!  
**catra😈** u, on the other hand...

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i told her i bought tickets for the two of us!!

 **catra😈** and?

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** ??

 **catra😈** omfg u need to spell it out for her lol  
**catra😈** pls do it asap before u find urself with a third wheel  
**catra😈** or a fourth wheel

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** OKAY I GET IT, CATRA

 **catra😈** or EVEN... a... fifth wheel????

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** THANKS, LOSER <3 <3

 **catra😈** np, loser

* * *

Wednesday, 7:43 am

Catra is early for her Introduction to Economics lecture, which is not really surprising, because she has significant... incentive for arriving early. However, it is a little _too_ early today. The class starts in 47 minutes, but she has slipped in through the back door and is already sitting at her usual seat. 

Catra is someone who wakes up as late as possible because she values her beauty sleep, and god forbid anyone who tries to get her to wake up earlier than strictly necessary.

But she may make an exception for someone.

Still groggy from the lack of sleep, she yawns as she scrolls through her phone, the glare way too bright in the darkness of the lecture hall. The warm air and pitch-black surroundings make her sleepy again, her eyes drifting to a close—

_Bzzt! Bzzt!_

**Adora🌻:** I’m almost there!  
**Adora🌻:** Wow, I can’t believe I was so out of it last night haha

Biting on her bottom lip to stop the foolish smile from escaping, she shoots back a quick, _yea, we both were. see u,_ which does not quite encapsulate how giddy she is with anticipation.

Then, just because she cannot help it, she scrolls up to reread their conversation from last night. 

They were talking late into the night, just some light banter that sometimes veered into more personal territory. Adora had been talking about her family until her messages became increasingly incoherent and full of typos as she grew sleepier: 

**Adora🌻:** Tell u mor abot it bfroe tmrw’s lectre!!!!  
**Adora🌻:** LOLLLLL I guessit’s alr tday’s*lec hahaaa

Catra, who must have been delirious from lack of sleep, had typed out, _hehe yea sure, gnite!!_ before staring at her phone in horror. 

First, what did she agree to? 

Second, and more importantly, who uses _hehe???_

But she had been too tired to care about that and had fallen asleep with her phone held in her grasp. So really, she only had her 2 am self to blame for agreeing to that foolish proposition.

She glances up to scan the empty lecture hall now and again, the ridiculous _hehe_ still bouncing around in her brain like an echo, a constant reminder of how uncool she is.

The heavy front doors of the lecture hall open, and with it comes a blinding flash of light. She can only make out a dark silhouette against the natural light from outside, and it comes with a distinctive high ponytail. 

The shadow stumbles all the way to the back of the lecture hall, along with muttered curses as it bumps into numerous chairs on the way. 

“Hi, Catra!” 

Catra grins, even though it is probably lost in the darkness, or maybe because it is lost in the darkness. “Hey, Adora. You’re here early.”

Adora huffs a small laugh as she takes her seat. “Aren’t you here too?”

“Yeah, and now we’re both sitting in the dark like two losers.”

“It’s... kinda creepy like this.”

“Scared, Adora?”

“No! You’re the one who’s scared.” But Adora is unable to relax fully, her head jolting at every rustle and creak reverberating ominously throughout the dark lecture hall.

“Aw, you _are_ scared! Need me to hold your hand?” Catra means it as a joke, but also not really.

Right after the words leave her mouth, she feels a light brush against her arm, the contact so fleeting that she chalks it up as an accidental touch. Then, it happens again, the prolonged contact sending shivers down her spine. The insistent press of her arm is definitely an intentional gesture. 

Catra swallows. _Ah._

Heart pounding, she trails her fingers down her skin to seek out her hand.

_I’m just going to hold her hand, it’s no big deal. People hold hands all the time. Friends hold hands all the time. Do they? Yeah, I think they do? Anyway, it’s not as if it’s a kiss or something._

Her trembling fingers falter because her traitorous brain is now thinking about the cheek kiss.

_Stop!!! Do NOT think about that kiss in the café where she was holding me and my hands were resting on her waist and then she leaned in and her hair actually smelled of lavender— Oh my god, her WAIST. I actually touched her WAIST!!!_

She really should have taken up Perfuma’s offer of guided meditation. Her thoughts are wandering far, far away. She swallows and takes a deep breath as their hands meet palm-to-palm, despite her growing inner turmoil. 

_What the fuck, I need to stop thinking, it’s going to make my palms sweat so much. Oh fuck, I hope my palm isn’t sweaty. Is it too late to wipe my hands on my jeans? But I can’t just withdraw my hand now, it’ll be so awkward!_

All too soon, her fingers are now carefully positioned and just a moment away from intertwining with Adora’s. 

_Here goes nothing. Remember, nice and easy. I can do this. I can do this!_

She seizes Adora’s hand, crushing her fingers in an iron grip. Adora inhales sharply, but she does not pull her hand out of her grasp. 

For the first few moments, Catra panics when neither of them moves. 

_Am I holding her hand too tightly? It’s going to cut off her circulation and she’s going to die. Stop thinking, that’s definitely not helping at all. Please don’t die, Adora!_

She is indeed squeezing her fingers too tightly, as evidenced by the growing redness of Adora’s fingertips. But Adora merely adjusts the hold until their fingers slot together more comfortably, then rubs small circles on her hand in a soothing gesture, probably because she is as still as a stone statue and not breathing at all.

Catra finally lets out a slow breath. She relaxes her fingers as her mind quietens, her embarrassment and worries washing away with Adora's grounding touch.

They hold hands in the darkened lecture hall, enjoying each other’s presence, both sporting equally goofy grins that are lost in the darkness.

She really cannot control the wide smile that is spreading across her face. She tries, but fails, to school her expression into one that is more fitting of her badass persona. Cool people do not get flustered when they hold... _Adora’s_... hand. At that thought, she sneaks a furtive glance in the direction of their entwined fingers and a rush of warmth suffuses her.

Once she is able to get her voice to work, she feels the need to assert her dominance again after that embarrassing display. She taunts, “Still scared, Adora?”

“I’m not! You’re the one who’s scared.”

But they continue to hold hands and play with each other’s fingers, so.

Somehow, bickering amidst the darkness of the lecture hall is so much fun. Holding hands transforms the dull atmosphere into one that is enigmatic. It feels like anything they say will just disappear into the void of darkness, and any spoken secrets will not see the light of the day. 

With Adora’s hand as a comforting and grounding warmth, Catra shares more about herself, like the academic stress from being on a conditional scholarship, and getting bounced around in foster homes when she was a child. Adora tells her that her parents expect her to carry on the family business even though she has no interest in it, and she feels like a failure when she cannot meet their impossibly high expectations.

As they open up about their fears and vulnerabilities, they gain a better understanding of each other. Even if life gets too much, they know that they will always be able to count on each other for support and affirmation. The air surrounding them changes, and it almost feels as if they are living in their own world that no one else can begin to understand.

Catra’s heart is so full.

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: 💖best friends trio💖]**

**bow🏹:** glimmerrr  
**bow🏹:** adoraaa  
**bow🏹:** wru guys :(??  
**bow🏹:** im at our table outside the lecture hall  
**bow🏹:** alone  
**bow🏹:** the one time im actually early  
**bow🏹:** and im all by my lonesome self!!! :(  
**bow🏹:** o,,, poor me :(

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** I’m on my way, sorry!  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** 8:15 is a new record for you, I’m so proud :’D  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Where’s Adora?

 **bow🏹:** idk :(  
**bow🏹:** i thought she'd be here alr

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Hmm she’s always early though  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Did you check inside the lecture hall?

 **bow🏹:** why would she b inside...  
**bow🏹:** oh  
**bow🏹:** shes inside with catra

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Oh lol okay 

**bow🏹:** oops...  
**bow🏹:** i think i may have interrupted??

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** I’m almost there!

 **bow🏹:** their moment??///

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Huh  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** What are they doing???

 **bow🏹:** dont tell adora

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** WAIT  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** NO

 **bow🏹:** theyre holding hands!!!! 😳😳😳  
**bow🏹:** huh why wait  
**bow🏹:** o shit  
**bow🏹:** how to delete  
**bow🏹:** glimmer help  
**bow🏹:** glimmer ???  
**bow🏹:** o fuck  
**bow🏹:** adora pls dont kill me

* * *

Bow and Glimmer enter the lecture hall at 8:20 am when the automatic lights start flickering on. They spot Adora and Catra at their seats, both red-faced and averting their eyes.

Bow looks at Glimmer with wide beseeching eyes. _You go first._

Glimmer frowns at Bow, impervious to his pleading eyes. _No, YOU go first._

Bow grimaces at Glimmer. _She’s going to kill me._

Glimmer rolls her eyes and gives in. _Fine. You owe me one._

Bow pecks her on the cheek and hides behind her as they make their way to their seats. Glimmer aims to resolve the mounting tension between her three equally embarrassed friends, but she is admittedly not the best at de-escalation, so.

The words that first come to her mind are, _Are the two of you together?_ But on second thought, she thinks it is not the politest of conversation starters, so she racks her brain for a better opener. _What’s the deal with you two?_ Nooo, it has to be non-judgmental and non-accusatory. An open conversation that everyone can participate in.

Oh. Easy. This will work.

“HAHAHA,” Glimmer booms. “ECONOMICS, am I right?” 

Not bad, if she may say so herself. 

The three of them stare at her in shock.

Then, the four of them sit in embarrassed silence.

* * *

Thursday: Experiments Day 1 (Glimmer & Catra)

Glimmer is already organizing the equipment required for their experiments when Catra arrives with the questionnaires.

“So, what are your intentions?” Glimmer asks, not looking up from the main computer terminal.

Catra looks at Glimmer, then at the questionnaires in her hand. 

“Uh, I’ve just printed the questionnaires, gonna place them on their tables now?”

“Hm,” Glimmer says in a disapproving tone. “Playing dumb, I see.”

Catra is at a loss. 

“I’m just following our experimental procedure?” She double-checked the instructions this morning, just in case. Her brain finally catches up. “I’m not playing dumb!” 

It is way too early for this.

Glimmer finally looks up with an extremely judgmental expression on her face. Eyes narrowing, she says, “I meant, with Adora.”

_Oh. Adora. Of course. What else could her cryptic words possibly be referring to?_

“Did she say anything about me?” Catra cannot help but ask, her heart skipping a beat. She feels her face heating up slightly and hopes she is not blushing.

“No, but there’s... something going on.” Glimmer frowns, seemingly deep in thought. Then, her face suddenly lights up, which is never a good sign, because Catra is pretty sure that normal people do not become all glowy when they become overexcited.

“Ah, I see what you’re playing at!” Glimmer rushes through her words in delight. “A prisoner’s dilemma game in real life! I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier!”

_What?_

“What game am I, uh, playing?” 

At her bewildered expression, Glimmer says, “Don’t you get it? Wait, let me draw it out!” She turns to the whiteboard and begins scribbling furiously. 

Catra suddenly feels like a lab rat. She was supposed to be the one conducting the prisoner’s dilemma games, and not the one being subjected to them. Sneaking a quick glance at the door, she wonders if it is too late to ditch Glimmer because she is not making any sense. She inches slowly to the door—

“Okay, I’m done!” 

Catra stops moving immediately, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Glimmer turns to her as she displays her finished work with a flourish, paying no attention to the fact that Catra has retreated by about ten steps.

 **Prisoner's Dilemma: Catra & Adora**  
Presented by: THE AWESOME GLIMMER

|  ****

**Catra stays silent**

|  ****

**Catra betrays Adora**  
  
---|---|---  
****

**Adora stays silent**

| 

Both serve 1 year

| 

Catra goes free,  
Adora serves 3 years  
  
****

**Adora betrays Catra**

| 

Adora goes free,  
Catra serves 3 years

| 

Both serve 2 years  
  
“So. There’s something going on between the two of you. Bow and I, who are concerned parties, will interrogate you two in different rooms.

“We can only find out what’s going on if one, or both, of you tells us about it.” She narrows her eyes at her dramatically. “Or, in summary, if either of you betrays the other.”

“If both of you stay silent,” She taps on the upper left quadrant with her whiteboard marker. “You will each serve one year.”

“Why would we need t—”

Glimmer clears her throat furiously at her interruption, so Catra swallows the words in her throat, looking properly chastised.

“If either of you... betrays the other by spilling the beans,” she says, looking pointedly at her as if she already knows who is more likely to betray the other, “the betrayer will go free and the betrayed will serve three years.”

Catra gulps at her icy tone.

“If both of you betray each other by speaking, you will each serve two years.” 

Glimmer somehow manages to stare her down despite being a couple of inches shorter than her. It is both an intimidating and impressive display.

Catra wonders if Glimmer is _actually_ expecting a response from her. And if so, what is she even supposed to say? All the talk about betraying each other just because Catra asked if Adora had said something about... whatever is going on between them.

The tension in the room rises when it becomes apparent that no one is going to say anything.

Until.

“Oh shit, I shouldn’t have said that Adora didn’t tell us anything!” Glimmer exclaims, face-palming herself, which makes a cloud of glitter puff out of her hair. Catra rubs her eyes because she may be having both visual and auditory hallucinations. “Ugh, I’m so stupid!”

Catra takes a deep breath, then lets out her breath slowly. She finally looks at the whiteboard and tries to play along because it seems like Glimmer is still waiting for her to say something. 

So, given that Adora has stayed silent...

If she stays silent as well, they will both have to serve one year. (Hypothetically.)

If she betrays Adora, she gets to go free, but Adora will have to serve three years. (Hypothetically. No one is going to jail.)

The choice is somehow an easy one to make. Hoping that her face is not as red as it feels, she finally stammers out, “I wouldn’t mind bunking with Adora, it’d be fun.”

Glimmer looks intently at her. The silence is loaded, which makes Catra uneasy. 

It makes her want to deflect the attention because she does not feel good enough for Adora. It makes her want to say stupid shit like, _It’s not because I like her!_ The words are on the tip of her tongue, but Glimmer’s piercing look can probably suss out any lies, so she bites them back and scuffs her shoes on the floor.

“You’re okay.” Glimmer finally concedes.

Feeling like she just got approval from one of Adora’s overprotective parents, her heart lifts. 

She tries really hard not to think about the alternative. _Would you trust me as much as I trust you?_

They carry out the experiments peacefully, and Catra manages to make Glimmer burst into laughter and clap her on the back twice. She even makes a concerted effort not to call her Glitter or Sparkles which she thinks Glimmer appreciates, so it is not all that bad.

Her heart sinks when she checks the experiment schedule for the next day. Time to meet the other parent tomorrow.

Friday: Experiments Day 2 (Bow & Catra)

Catra drags her feet toward the computer lab with a heavy heart. They work well together, conducting the experiments with relative ease because she has already gone through them yesterday, although she keeps sneaking looks at Bow now and again. She loses a few years of her lifespan every time Bow opens his mouth to... give instructions to the participants. She just hopes that his upcoming lecture will not be as demanding as Glimmer’s, because worrying about it is making her more tired than usual.

“Catra?” Bow says, and she nearly jumps out of her skin. They have packed up all the equipment and are now recording the questionnaire answers on the computers.

“Yes?” Catra stammers out hesitantly. “I swear, I’m not playing any games with anyone! I only have the purest of intentions with Adora! Uh, mostly.” Okay, Bow definitely does NOT need to know that, she really needs to stop talking now, but the words just spill out without her permission.

“I trust her, and I really hope she trusts me too. Even if she ever chooses to betray me... I don’t think I’ll choose to betray her.” Oh my god, she is blabbing and being so incoherent. 

_Stop talking NOW!!!_

She squeezes her eyes shut and only takes a peek at Bow when he does not reply after a few moments.

Eyes wide and mouth agape, Bow looks entirely flabbergasted.

“Uh, that’s... good to know?”

He scratches his chin, looking like he is not being paid enough (or, at all) for this. Steadfastly avoiding her eyes, he says, “I was just going to ask if you needed help with your questionnaires?” He gestures broadly at his stack and manages to knock over the entire pile. “I’m, uh, done with mine.” 

They stare at the papers fluttering down, neither making a move to pick them up.

_Oh my god._

_What the actual fuck!!!_

Face burning in mortification, she divides her stack of questionnaires into two and pushes it over to him wordlessly. She has reached her embarrassment quota for the day. Nothing else can faze her, it will be like... water off a duck’s back. She feels like a sitting duck, that is for sure.

Bow crouches to pick up the papers scattered all over the floor while Catra dies a slow death in her seat. In a voice that is somehow an octave higher, he tells the crumpled papers in his hands, “I don’t think Adora will ever betray you, for that matter.” 

Catra does not even poke fun of his squeaky voice because her soul has officially left her body. “Oh.” She swallows audibly. “Uh. Thanks?” 

They make a tacit agreement never to bring up this awkward conversation again.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Perfuma(?) & Catra]**

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** CATRA!!!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** I had the BEST night ever!!!

 **catra😈** o wow i rly didnt need to know that omg

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Wait, I just saw the last few messages  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Why are the two of you calling each other losers??? 

**catra😈** omfg thats cos shes such a loserrr...  
**catra😈** what happened to ur phone???

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** It’s charging rn so I’m using hers, I just couldn't wait to share the good news with you :D  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** She wants to thank you for telling her about the jazz concert!!

 **catra😈** yea she better >:)

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** And that you’re forgiven for breaking her crystal ball

 **catra😈** omfg........ FINALLY  
**catra😈** idk how she stayed mad at me for so long wtf?? 

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Idk :(

 **catra😈** fuck u perfuma if u ever see this !!!! i sure hope u do >:(  
**catra😈** literally every time we hang,,, i always fear for my LIFE!!!

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Omg, you’re so dramatic, why can’t you just admit that you like hanging out with her  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** She just doesn’t believe you have cat-like instincts that make you want to push things off tables

 **catra😈** I TOLD YOU!! IT JUST HAPPENED

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Yeah, I know this, and I love you  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** But honestly it might have been the way you stared her right in the eye when you pushed it off her table  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** I’m glad both of you are cool now :)

 **catra😈** ugh, finally  
**catra😈** im happy for u two <3

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Thanks, Catra <3  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** She said it's a date but  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Idk???

 **catra😈** YES OMFGGG IT WAS A DATE  
**catra😈** WAIT I MEAN IT ISSS STILL A DATE!!!!  
**catra😈** ARENT U IN HER ROOM

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Ahhh

 **catra😈** AND IT'S ALR MIDNITE wtf hahaha

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** I just can’t believe it :’)

 **catra😈** omggg u deserve it :)

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** You deserve love and affection too! <3  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Are you ready for your date tomorrow??

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** Are you ignoring me bc you’re shy again

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** CATRAAA WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JULY 5TH IS SCORPIA'S BIRTHDAY!! Happy Birthday, Scorpia! Hope you're having fun with Perfuma ;)  
> Thank you for your support & kind comments! I'll reply as soon as I'm able to! [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	10. Chapter 10

Saturday, 1:20 pm

40 minutes until their scheduled study session.

Catra glances at her discarded clothes strewn all over her bed, then turns her gaze toward the mirror for the sixth time in the past hour. She spent the entire morning deliberating on what to wear, but ended up wearing her usual lounge outfit: a loose orange crop top that says _MOVE, I’M GAY,_ and black shorts. She wants to clear the mess on her bed, but Applesauce has made himself comfortable, curling himself up into a ball in preparation for his afternoon nap. Rolling her eyes fondly, she gathers the clothes around him and stuffs them in her wardrobe.

She flings her windows open to let some fresh air in. Then, she tidies her table, making enough space for two. Her hands search for something else to do, but she realizes that her room is spick and span for once. She checks her phone again with fumbling hands, certain that it is nearly 2 pm and that the torturous wait will finally be over soon.

_What! How has it only been six minutes since then?!_

Without any other distractions, her mind is stuck on one thought and one thought only.

_Adora._

Specifically, the blurring of lines between them.

She may or may not have made a list of the things they have done in her diary. But she does not want to be one of those people who overanalyze every little thing their crush says or does because it will just drive her up the wall. Essentially, she does not have any experience when it comes to matters of the heart. It had taken her _literal weeks_ to realize that Bow and Glimmer were together despite them not shying away from displays of affection, whether physical or verbal.

When she had seen them holding hands after their third group meeting, her first thought was, _They’re such good friends!_ But she always had her suspicions because of their incessant flirting, them always hanging out together, and their casual touches.

And then she had made the mistake of half-telling, half-asking Adora. She had tried to phrase her question as a statement so that it would not be obvious that she was trying to fish for information to satisfy her curiosity.

Adora had stared at her with a strange look on her face. _They’re together,_ like she was certain that Catra was pulling her leg. And when she realized that she was actually serious because of her pathetic attempts at playing off her obliviousness, she had exclaimed, _we’ve been in the same group for three weeks!_

Her retort seemed a bit weak, even to her. _Friends do all those things too!_

She just did not want to assume anything!

_They could be really good friends! Good friends who look at the Moonstone together at night, who sling their arms around each other’s shoulders, who always hang out with each other every single day, who kiss each other on the cheek..._

_Right...?_

Maybe the problem is with herself then. If everyone in the school, including the professors, knows that Bow and Glimmer are together, then it can only mean that Catra is just the most oblivious person in the world.

_Wait, no._

_There’s always Scorpia._

Cackling aloud in her room, she gives up on thinking about these things. It is _not_ that she is repressing everything to do with emotionsbecause she does not know how to handle them, really!

She will just go with the flow and see what happens.

* * *

_Knock, knock!_

“Catra? It’s me.”

“Okay, I’m coming!” She hurries to the door while trying to smooth her hair down and adjust her clothes simultaneously, but ends up failing at both.

Adora is wearing a gray tank top with black leggings. Her hair is down again, which Catra really likes. However, she looks a little different today. Catra narrows her eyes in scrutiny. 

Her eyes widen in realization.

It is her arms. Her bare arms. Her very bare, very toned arms.

_Help._

_Why isn’t she wearing her red jacket??_

It is a lot to take in. Catra tries to drag her eyes up from her arms... only to stop at her broad shoulders that are accentuated by her tank top. They are dotted with a light smattering of freckles, but how does she get freckles there when she wears her jacket all day long anyway?

“Hey Ca—”

With a high flush on her cheeks, Catra’s head snaps up to meet her eyes, hoping that she did not realize she was ogling her arms. But Adora seems to be at a loss for words, staring slack-jawed at her _MOVE, I’M GAY_ crop top.

Catra fiddles with the hem of her crop top, resisting the urge to pull it down to cover her exposed midriff. “Hey, Adora,” she tries to say in her usual drawl, but it ends up sounding like a dying squeak.

Adora finally looks up, her cheeks flushing red. “Catra, hey! Nice, uh.” Her eyes dart down and up again. “Top!”

“Thanks? It’s one of my favorites.” At the compliment, Catra unconsciously puffs out her chest with pride, which makes the fabric of her crop top ride up. Adora clears her throat and looks everywhere but her top after that. Without thinking, Catra says, “Nice ar—”

_Wait, is that too much?_

_Is it inappropriate for me to comment on her arms?_

“Arrival!” Catra sputters, face heating up. _What the fuck am I saying?_ “Just in time for studying.” Except that her body does not get the memo. She remains rooted right in the middle of the doorway.

Adora waits for a long moment, then takes it upon herself to invite herself in. She slings an arm around Catra, who shivers at her much too warm and distracting touch. She leans close—lavender wafts over—to whisper, “Move, I’m gay too.”

Catra glimpses the corner of Adora’s lips curving up as if she is proud of her witty response. At her way too smug look, she wants to roll her eyes. Instead, an unintelligible gurgle escapes from her mouth because her brain is fixating on her burning touch and close proximity and cute dimple and freckles and arms. In a voice that is half an octave higher, she says, “Yes! No?” _What. The. Fuck._ “I mean, come in!” She steps aside stiffly, relying solely on autopilot.

Going with the flow is proving to be rather difficult when her brain and body are not cooperating.

* * *

The uneven but continual tapping of keys fades into the monotony of the hot afternoon. They work on their economics papers which constitute 40% of their Introduction to Economics grade.

“I’m done!” Adora exclaims happily. “How’s yours going?”

“I’ve just finished mine too. Want to check each other’s?”

“Sure, I’ll email you.”

Finally done with proofreading, they submit their papers to the economics course site.

“What should we do now? I don’t think I can look at econ anymore today.” Catra yawns and stretches her arms above her head, feeling the brush of air against her abdomen.

_Ah, that feels g—_

“APPLESAUCE!” Adora blurts out as she shoots up from her seat, chair grating against the floor with a nasty screech.

Catra winces mid-stretch at the dissonance. “Is he awake?”

Catra turns to look at her bed, only to see Applesauce already beside her chair, taking a deep crouch before jumping gracefully onto the table. Purring, he trots over to Catra to bunt against her hand, all the while keeping an eye on Adora.

“Catra?” Adora whispers fearfully, looking warily at Applesauce’s defensive stance and the way his ears are flattened against his head. “Why does he seem so... annoyed at me?"

Puzzled, Catra glances at Applesauce, taking in his gentle demeanor and hearing his soft meows. “What do you mean? He’s not.”

Adora rubs her eyes then squints at Applesauce doubtfully. Hissing, he arches his back, and she catches sight of the flinty glare again. “There!” She points a finger at him, then quickly retracts it when he opens his mouth wide, showing off his canine teeth. “He just did it again!”

Catra looks at the angelic expression on his face. As if on cue, he stretches out his front paws, letting out soft purrs of delight as Catra smooths her hands along his back. “Aw, look at you! Adora doesn’t know you like I do,” she says in a sing-song voice, burying her face in his soft fur.

Temporarily forgetting about Applesauce, Adora giggles at Catra’s tone. “You sound so cute.”

It breaks Catra out of her bubble, but she continues rubbing his back as he meows contentedly. Noticing Adora sitting awkwardly on the other side of the table, she asks, “Don’t you want to pet him?”

Adora gulps, averting her eyes. “Uh... I’m not very comfortable with cats?”

“Oh. All cats?” Catra covers Applesauce’s ears before whispering, “Or just him?”

Adora raises an eyebrow at her seemingly useless gesture. _You do know that he doesn’t understand what we’re saying._ “Cats... in general, I guess.”

 _He’s sensitive!_ Catra mouths at her heatedly, then turns back to pet his head when he bunts against her hand again. Aloud, she asks, “Bad experience?”

Adora twirls her hair nervously. “Yeah, I was scratched on my face.” With a growing blush on her cheeks, she adds in a small voice, “when I was six.”

“When you were six?!” Catra laughs uproariously, then tries to control her laughter by biting on her inner cheek when she sees her flush in embarrassment. That would explain her inability to connect with Applesauce. “We could’ve studied somewhere else, why did you want to...” She trails off when she sees the crimson red blush on her cheeks spread to the tips of her ears.

Neither of them says anything for a long moment. Adora stares resolutely at her laptop screen while Catra watches her fingers sink in Applesauce’s fur.

_It must be nice to be a cat. Their lives are so simple._

Catra finally finds her voice. “Do you want to try?”

Right as the words leave her mouth, her face somehow starts to heat up.

_What’s wrong with me?_

Adora’s head snaps up, and Catra catches sight of her wide eyes and flushed cheeks. As they lock eyes for a few moments, they are suddenly transported back to the memory of the café booth.

Adora had said that... before leaning in... to ki—

_Oh my god._

“I mean—” Catra clears her throat furiously, willing her brain to stop wandering off for once. “Do you want to try petting!” She flails her arms at Applesauce, which is rather unnecessary, because who else can she pet?

_Who, me?_

_Adora’s hands. On me._

_Holy fuck._

Her hands stop in midmotion, thinking about _Adora_ and _petting_. Those two words definitely do not belong in the same sentence because it is doing something weird to her insides. The blush on Adora’s face does not seem to be dissipating either.

Applesauce mews in displeasure when her petting stops, which jolts her back to reality. She redoubles her efforts to meet his demands while trying to string together a complete sentence that leaves no confusion for anyone. “Do you want to try. Petting. Applesauce.”

After a few moments of silence, Adora wheezes out breathlessly, “Yeah, okay.”

She walks over to Catra’s side. Lifting a trembling hand, she leaves it hovering over Applesauce, who eyes her distrustfully.

Catra rolls her eyes. “Are you petting him or the air?”

Adora makes a face. “I’m trying!” She makes a few aborted movements to close the distance. “What if he scratches me?”

“He’s not going to scratch you, oh my god.” Catra tries to demonstrate, her hand petting him lightly. “Just stroke his back, like this.”

At Adora’s tentative touch, Applesauce suddenly becomes eerily silent, body tensing, looking as though he may bolt if her hand lands on him again. Only when she withdraws her hand does he continue to purr, but he inches closer to Catra, wiggling his body to reposition himself, while always keeping Adora within his sight as if daring her to touch him again.

Adora looks helplessly at Catra.

Catra pats Applesauce’s cute wiggling butt and mouths at her silently, _See what you’ve done! You hurt his feelings._

Flabbergasted, Adora thrusts her hands out in an “are you seeing this?” gesture. _He’s a cat!_

Catra stares in mock outrage. _So what? I’ve told you, he’s sensitive!_

Looking at the determined furrow between Adora’s brows, Catra relents. “Want me to help you out?” she says, her voice unintentionally pitching a bit lower than usual.

A sharp intake of breath. “Yeah.”

“Do you want... verbal instructions?” Catra feels her lips curving upward. “Or...”

Adora’s eyes drop to her mouth. “Or?”

Catra wets her lips. “A physical demonstration?”

“How about both?” Adora smirks, eyebrow cocked in a challenge.

“Sure, I can handle both. You probably need to sit down for this. It may get... intense.”

Adora looks at her chair on the other side of the table, which is just a few steps away, but decides that it is not worth the trouble. Shooting a wicked grin at Catra, she says, “Okay, move over, then!” Then, she makes a move to sit down.

“No!” Catra yelps frantically, flailing her arms in an attempt to push her away but not daring to touch her bare arms. “Get your—” 

Too late. Adora plops down. Fortunately, Catra has fast reflexes. She leaps out of her chair in a flash as a last-ditch attempt at self-preservation. Applesauce stiffens at the commotion, looking at them cautiously.

“Come on, Catra!” Adora pats the space beside her, urging her to sit.

Catra nibbles on her bottom lip as she considers her options.

She could, hypothetically, just bring the other chair over, which would resolve her dilemma once and for all.

Instead, she inches warily toward Adora, who lifts her arm from the seat and rests it on the back of the chair in invitation. She glances at the seat—has it always been this small?—and sits down stiffly, just one buttock resting on the corner of the seat. She catches Applesauce’s eye and sends him a telepathic scream, _Help me!_ but he ignores her with a flick of his tail. _Traitor._

“Do you, uh, have enough space?” Adora asks hesitantly, seeing all the empty space on the seat.

“Yes!” Catra exclaims, face flushing hotly. “This is fine!”

“You can move a little more,” Adora says, curling an arm around her shoulders and tugging her close.

Catra swallows, then shifts over reluctantly. She tries to focus on getting enough air into her lungs, but soon regrets it when all she can smell is lavender, and all she can feel is her soft hair brushing against her shoulder. She darts a quick look at Adora. Satisfied with what she sees, she finally leans back into the comforting embrace. The arm around her shoulders feels warm and strong.

Adora tilts her head toward her. “Petting time?”

“Uh...” Catra licks her lips distractedly. “Yeah.” She tentatively places her hand over Adora’s, decidedly not thinking about the softness of her skin. Guiding her hand to Applesauce’s back, she strokes his back gently in a smooth motion.

Applesauce stills.

They hold their breaths in fearful anticipation, and Catra is starting to think that it is all a very big mistake when she sees his ears twitch nervously.

A moment later, he stretches out on the table and melts into a puddle. _Whew, that could’ve been embarrassing._

“Just like this. You can try petting his head or under his chin too.”

Emboldened, Adora reaches out to card through his thick fur. “He’s so long,” she says in awe, running her hand from his head to his tail. The familiar lopsided grin is back on her face, and she looks so relaxed and happy and she is getting along so well with her cat—

There must surely be something she is forgetting.

Ah. Right. The bet.

That she unfortunately lost.

_Why was I so competitive? Who agrees on bets without determining what it’s going to be?! Now I know how Scorpia feels when I (almost) always trounce her at betting._

“Have you thought about the bet?” Catra asks reluctantly, unwilling to leave it hanging over her head like a sword.

“Oh, right!” Adora shoots her a cheeky smile. “Hmm, let me see...” She scans her surroundings, brows furrowing in deep concentration.

Catra tries to follow her gaze and hopes there is nothing too personal or incriminating laying around. Heart racing, she tries to recall where she had tossed her diary, before remembering that she had swept it under her bed.

_Her... bed?_

Adora’s eyes flit over it as she turns a little bit pink, but she quickly averts her gaze as if trying to avoid looking at it for too long.

Then she glances at her bookshelf, which is relatively sparse, just a few textbooks and a healthy-looking cactus on the side. Her gaze comes to rest on her nail polish collection. Lighting up, she asks, “Paint my nails for me?”

Catra does not know if she is disappointed or excited. “You sure?” Painting nails is boring and frustrating and troublesome and she only does it because she wants to look cool. But she has never painted anyone else’s nails before, so...

“Yep!” Adora curls her fingers inward to examine her neatly trimmed nails. “I rarely paint mine.”

“You’re missing out on so much.” Catra marches over to her cabinet and places them onto the table. Arranging them one by one, she presents them, “I have... black, ebony, crow, charcoal, and midnight.”

“Um,” Adora looks at the different shades of black, seemingly at a loss. “I’ll have the same as yours?”

“Yeah, sure.”

They let Applesauce out of the room reluctantly because nail polish is toxic to cats. Catra uncaps the bottle, which makes the chemical smell waft over, and their noses scrunch up.

Adora extends her hand, and Catra holds it steady.

_Wait._

_I should probably let Adora know about this first._

“Uh,” Catra blurts out right before applying the first stroke, and Adora’s hand twitches slightly in her grasp. “Just warning you first, I don’t have any nail polish remover.”

In a flash, Adora’s hand slips out of her grasp. “What do you mean you don’t have nail polish remover,” she says flatly, clutching her hand close to her chest.

Cackling, Catra reaches out for her hand again. “I mean, I don’t have it. Give me your hand!”

“Nooo.” Adora bats her hand away with flailing arms. “How do you have five bottles of nail polish but not any remover?!”

“I’m just that good! Trust me.” Catra finally manages to grab her hand, tightening her hold when Adora tries to escape. “We had a bet,” she throws her words back at her with a challenging lilt to her voice and a smug grin on her face. “Don’t tell me you’re going back on your word?”

“I’m not! But why does it feel like I’m the one who’s lost instead?!” Adora whines pitifully.

Catra tries to reassure her after seeing her fearful expression. “Chill, it’s okay. How hard can it be? I’ve done it like a million times.”

* * *

_How hard can it be?_ Famous last words from Catra.

Trembling hands.

Sweaty palms.

Pounding heart.

Dripping nail polish.

“You okay there, Catra?” Adora asks in concern, looking at her pale face.

“I’m fine. I just need a moment.”

_Plop, plop._

“No hurry, take your time.” Adora gives an experimental tug on her hand but the hold stays tight. Unable to help herself because her fingers are cramping slightly, she says, “Um, it’s just that... you kind of said that before, like, ten minutes ago.”

Flushing, Catra dips the brush and smears it against the inner side of the bottle for the twentieth time. With a shaky hand, she brings it to her fingernail.

They stare at her wildly trembling fingers with bated breaths. Adora sees how much she is shaking, so her hand is tense as if preparing to retract it at a moment’s notice.

Maybe the twentieth time is the charm? 

Somehow, painting someone else’s fingernails is too terrifying. Maybe it is the casual intimacy of it, or the fact that Adora’s hand is too warm, or because her fingers are so pretty—

_Those must surely be the reasons. It’s totally not because of my crippling self-doubt. It’s okay if I ruin my own nails (not that it happens often), but when it’s someone else’s—especially if that “someone else” is Adora—I’m suddenly feeling so much pressure. I just really want to do it well._

_Breathe._

_It’s okay._

Catra tucks her hair behind her ear while leaning close until her face is inches away from her hand.

_Breathe in, out. In—_

Tongue peeking out in concentration, she slides the brush across her nail in swift, steady strokes. The fresh coat of nail polish shines beautifully and evenly, not a speck out of place. Gingerly turning her hand this way and that for the best angles, she does the same for the other fingers on her hand.

_That was surprisingly easy! Nicely done, me! Five down, five more to go!_

_At the rate I’m going, this will be over in mere minutes._

_Easiest. Bet. Ever._

Grinning, she lets go of Adora’s hand and waits for her to offer the other hand. “I told you, we don’t need any nail polish remover”— _Uh, why is she not moving?_ —“not when you’re as good as...”

Tilting her head up to see why Adora is taking so long, the words get lost in her throat. Adora is looking at her with an undecipherable expression on her face. Her eyes, dark and intent, make her heart skip a beat. The world narrows down to the two of them, the continuous whirring of the ceiling fan fading into the background.

_Has she been... staring at me all this time?_

Suddenly feeling incredibly flustered, Catra hurriedly averts her gaze and turns her attention back to the bottle of nail polish on the table, dipping the brush into the bottle furiously. Feeling a wayward lock of hair fall from behind her ear, she reaches up to tuck it back, but—

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Adora raise her hand—not the one with freshly painted nails, she notes hazily—to tuck it behind her ear. Her hand trails over her ear, and then it brushes against her cheek in what feels like a lingering caress.

The tension in the air makes it difficult to breathe. Catra's body wants to melt at the contact, but her brain is holding her back, making it a contest of wills between her body and brain. Her brain ultimately wins by a small margin. “Stop staring at me,” she stammers out, finally managing to get her heart rate under control. She forces herself to meet Adora's eyes, only to see a pretty pink flush blooming across her cheeks. _I can’t concentrate when you’re looking at me like that!_

“I’m not!” Adora exclaims sheepishly, caught staring. “It’s just that, uh, your freckles are really cute.” Her hand makes an aborted movement toward her face again like she wants to trace her freckles with her fingertips, but thinks better of it because they are now looking right at each other.

“What! They’re not!” Catra huffs in indignation, but her cheeks are burning.

“They’re really cute,” Adora insists. “Just like you.”

_What the fuck???_

“I’m not cute!” Catra retorts, but to her absolute horror, she feels the corner of her lips curving up without permission.

Adora catches sight of the smile threatening to appear on her face—how can she not, given their proximity—and then a stupid grin blooms on her smug face. She parts her lips as if to say something, but when she sees the furious glare on Catra’s crimson red face, looking like she is just moments away from combusting spontaneously, she mimes zipping her mouth shut.

Catra exhales shakily.

_Stop distracting me with your bright blue eyes and pretty hair and stupidly cute face! Why are you sitting so closely to me? And worst of all, how dare you call me CUTE?!_

But it is okay. She can compartmentalize. She can deal with her trembling hands and burning face. She is just that good, after all. Furrowing her brows in concentration, she takes a deep inhale. Moving in sure, steady strokes, she finishes painting the sixth nail. Keeping the momentum going, she does another nail flawlessly.

_Nice._

As long as Adora keeps quiet—

Unfortunately, the universe hates her, so the silence does not last long.

Adora takes a quick glance at her tight jaw and flushed face. She leans close, her breath ghosting over her ear. “Even when you’re mad, you’re so—”

“Cute?” Catra deadpans, even though her heart is pounding madly. She bites her lip in concentration before bringing the brush down again. _It’s okay, I can tune her out if I know what she’s going to say._

“You said it, not me. I was going to say,” Adora murmurs, and Catra feels a shiver go through her body when warm lips graze her ear, “hot.”

_What the fuck?!_

Her fingers jerk in shock. It leaves a black splotch right in the middle of her nail.

_Fuuuck._

_Wait, it’s not that bad, I can just go over it._ She quickly rectifies her mistake with controlled strokes. With its even and smooth coating, the nail looks nothing out of the ordinary.

Only when her perfectionist tendencies temporarily take a backseat does she actually register Adora’s words.

_Did she just—_

Catra’s face suddenly _burns_. She grips Adora's hand in warning, careful not to smudge any of the polish. Adora needs to be reminded of who exactly is in charge. “Stop talking!”

“So bossy today,” Adora sighs, but there is a small smile on her face like she does not mind Catra taking charge. “How are you going to stop me from talking this time?” She takes a half-hearted glance at the table before resting the full weight of her gaze on Catra, pinning her to the spot. “We don’t have any pizza this time.”

Lost for words, Catra shoots her a mean glare that is probably buried under her red face. _We may not have any pizza, but there’s a bottle of nail polish right in my hands. Actually, I’ve four more bottles, if one is not enough._

Adora chuckles at her thunderous expression, unaware that Catra is seconds away from committing homicide because she cannot deal with her emotions. “Fine, I won’t talk, but...”

Then.

Catra feels a light, tentative touch on the small of her back. She inhales sharply as she meets Adora’s wide innocent eyes, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. _Is this okay?_

When Catra stares dumbly and does not raise an objection, Adora presses her hand on her back more firmly, the burning hot touch sending small shivers all over her body. Then, Adora rests her head in the crook of her neck. “Two more to go.”

_What?_

_Oh._

_Right._

_Why did I choose to wear a crop top today?!_

_Fuck, I can feel her hand on my bare skin._

_Stop. Concentrate!_

Shakily bringing the brush to Adora’s hand—resolutely _not thinking_ about how her other hand is idly tracing patterns on her bare skin—Catra inhales deeply and wills her fingers to stop trembling. The lines end up wobbly, but the polish evens out as it spreads over the nail. She keeps painting over and over again in mounting frustration until it ends up as a thick coat of polish.

_Oops. Whatever. At least the whole nail is filled in. It isn’t even that obvious, anyway._

“Last one,” Adora murmurs.

Thank god, and Catra will finally be done with this sweet torment.

Adora splays her fingers and runs them from her back to her side, leaving a blazing hot trail that ignites all her nerves. Catra tenses, half-expecting it to tickle because of her sensitive skin, but with the firm pressure she is exerting, it feels... good. The touch on her bare skin is _electric_ , and she cannot control the shudder that ripples through her body. Adora breathes against her neck, hot and damp. “Too much?”

_Want me to stop?_ is the unspoken question, but Catra already knows her answer to that. 

“No.” Catra exhales shakily, brain still fuzzy. She is going to kill Adora if the polish smudges because of her wandering hand. That is if she does not combust beforehand.

_Breathe in, out. In—_

Catra finally brings the brush to the last fingernail, surprised to find that her fingers are steady and controlled once again. Breathing exercises actually do work, despite her initial skepticism. She needs to thank Perfuma for the crash course someday because it is helping her ignore the hand roaming all over her waist, her midriff, her back.

Focused, Catra holds Adora’s thumb steady as she brushes her fingernail with quick strokes, one–two—

Adora curls her arm around her waist, forearm brushing against the hem of her crop top. Temporarily distracted, Catra cannot help but melt into the side hug as delicious warmth spreads throughout her body, making her feel warm and safe and protected.

Then.

Adora’s fluttering fingers trace the firm lines of her lower abdomen with delicate touches, which somehow sends a bolt of electricity through her body. She inhales sharply, body jolting straight up. Unconsciously, she grips Adora’s thumb with crushing force, which stills the motion of her other hand.

_Too hot._

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Adora’s head whips up from her shoulder as she lets go, her arm resting over the chair instead. “You, uh, okay?”

Catra takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, feeling the tension leave her body. She sees the worried look in Adora's eyes, then reassures her, “Yeah, I'm fine.”

After a few moments of silence, Catra leans back and relaxes into her embrace again. Adora rests her hand on her shoulder instead, smoothing over her skin in apology. And the touch is once again warm and comforting and grounding instead of scorching hot.

Catra, still dazed, finally remembers what she was doing, and looks at Adora’s thumb. It is probably through pure dumb luck that she just needs one last brush of nail polish, and then she is finally—

“Done!”

She caps the bottle of nail polish, gesturing at her almost-perfectly painted nails with a flourish. How her nails turned out like this also eludes her, given how much she was... touching just now. Maybe Adora is just blessed or something.

“Wow, they look amazing!” Adora curls her fingers inward, then stretches them in front of her, admiring them in obvious delight.

“Of course they are, I painted them.” Catra puffs out with pride, a wide smile on her face. She extends her fingers out beside hers. “Now we match.”

“You’re amazing.” Adora says earnestly, lips curving into a fond smile.

“I know.” Catra winks. An idea suddenly coming to her mind, she whips out her phone and taps on the camera application. “Selfie?”

“Yeah, sure!”

Catra feels bold enough to put her arm around Adora’s shoulders. It starts as a light and hesitant touch, but when Adora slings an arm around her shoulders effortlessly, she feels comfortable enough to hold her more tightly. “You ready?”

“Uh,” Adora frets. “Are we going to pose...?”

 _What hand gesture should we make? Something that looks cool._ Catra raises her index and pinky fingers, and then extends her thumb. “What about this?”

Adora’s face flushes red. She stares at her for a long moment, which makes Catra fidget. Maybe the sign means something? But she finally puts up the same sign, tilting her head toward Catra, who snaps a photograph of themselves with wide goofy grins on their faces.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Scorpia]**

**catra😈:** [image: catra & adora selfie]  
**catra😈:** beat this >:)

 **Scorpiaaa:** Wow, you two look so happy!!  
**Scorpiaaa:** And very close 👀👀  
**Scorpiaaa:** Any news you want to share? 

**catra😈:** lol nope  
**catra😈:** she wanted me to paint her nails  
**catra😈:** cos i lost that stupid bet that day ughghhh >:(

 **Scorpiaaa:** Haha, you don’t look very disappointed in the photo LOL  
**Scorpiaaa:** I remember the one time I won a bet against you

 **catra😈:** that did NOT happen

 **Scorpiaaa:** You made such a big fuss over it  
**Scorpiaaa:** Hmm and what happened after that?

 **catra😈:** NOTHING bc i didnt lose!!!

 **Scorpiaaa:** Ohhh right, Perfuma forced you to pay for her paintball ticket too lol 

**catra😈:** THATS A LIE!!!!!

 **Scorpiaaa:** I think I still have the photo somewhere  
**Scorpiaaa:** [image: catra, scorpia, & perfuma selfie]  
**Scorpiaaa:** LMAO look at your big scowl here  
**Scorpiaaa:** And your crossed arms  
**Scorpiaaa:** Then compare it with this  
**Scorpiaaa:** [image: catra & adora selfie]

 **catra😈:** OMFGGG NOOO I HATE U !!!!!!

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: 💖best friends trio💖]**

**Adora🌻:** [image: applesauce]  
**Adora🌻:** [image: catra & adora selfie]  
**Adora🌻:** Fun day at Catra’s :D

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** OOOH MY GOD  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Finally?? Congrats!!!

 **bow🏹:** yall r so cute!!!  
**bow🏹:** grats!!!  
**bow🏹:** uh why r we congratulating her btw

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Omg -__-  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** That’s sign language for...  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Drum roll please!

 **bow🏹:** ba dum ba dum 

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Wow nvm that’s the saddest drum roll ever

 **bow🏹:** omgggg just tell me alr

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** I love you!

 **bow🏹:** i lov u too but pls tell me!!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** No, I mean, I love you

 **bow🏹:** ya i kno that n ily too? <3??

 **Adora🌻:** OMG PLEASE STOP  
**Adora🌻:** @ **bow🏹** It means “I love you” in sign language

 **bow🏹:** ohhhh  
**bow🏹:** well why didnt u just say so?

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** I’VE BEEN TRYING TO OMG!!

 **bow🏹:** congrats adora~~!!

 **Adora🌻:** Nah, she suggested posing this way but  
**Adora🌻:** I don’t think she knows what it means :(

 **bow🏹:** aw man, rly?

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Not like you knew it either, Bow... 

**bow🏹:** well,, we can just ask her?

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** But we can’t just ask her straight out

 **bow🏹:** haha, straight

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** HAHA

 **Adora🌻:** OMG y’all are five

 **bow🏹:** agreed, shes too formidable for us to do it indiv  
**bow🏹:** we nd to work tgt if we wna interrogate her again

 **Adora🌻:** Uh  
**Adora🌻:** What do you mean by AGAIN?

 **bow🏹:** maybe we can add her to this grp so we can get a straight ans?

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Haha, straight

 **bow🏹:** HAHA NICE 

**Adora🌻:** We’re NOT going to do that!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** She’s passed our background check, right?

 **bow🏹:** yup, i managed to hack into ur mum’s laptop, everyth is gd to go

 **Adora🌻:** ARE YOU TWO JUST TALKING OVER ME

 **bow🏹:** btw her pw is so cute hehe she rly loves u <33

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ooh interesting, you’re going to have to tell me her password someday  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Right, how did your interrogation go yesterday?

 **Adora🌻:** ??? WTF

 **bow🏹:** ur suggestion worked!!! n she passed the test!!  
**bow🏹:** silence was rly effective, i didnt have to do much hehe  
**bow🏹:** @ **Adora🌻** fineee we promise we wont add her here

 **Adora🌻:** You’re the only reasonable person around unlike @ **✨GLIMMER✨** >:(

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** PLEASE, he’s like the most unintentionally chaotic person ever  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Also, we don’t have to add her here  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Because we already have a group with her ;)

 **bow🏹:** sry bro, we’re meddling for ur own gd

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Don’t worry Adora, we won’t make it so obvious

 **Adora🌻:** Excuse me, what?  
**Adora🌻:** Am I the only one who remembers what happened last lecture? 

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Yes.

 **bow🏹:** [image: i pretend i do not see it meme]

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**bow🏹:** it’s a beautiful day outside

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...

 **bow🏹:** on days like these...

 **Scorpiaaa:** Hello guys! :D What’s up?  
**Scorpiaaa:** It’s already nighttime, are y’all okay?

 **bow🏹:** uh

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** UH

 **bow🏹:** i just meant, uh, on days like these...  
**bow🏹:** @ **✨GLIMMER✨** help!!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** UHHH  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** On days like these...  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** We try to find people  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Who know sign language!

 **bow🏹:** omfg  
**bow🏹:** yea for uhhh tutoring classes!  
**bow🏹:** we want to help incr awareness for those who r deaf or hard of hearing!

 **Scorpiaaa:** Wow, that sounds amazing!  
**Scorpiaaa:** Unfortunately, I don’t know ASL :(

 **catra😈:** me neither

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Oh okay  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Not even the “I love you” sign?

 **bow🏹:** OMG NOOO thats too obv !!!!!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Omg you pointing it out isn’t helping AT ALL!!

 **bow🏹:** u pointing out my pointing out makes it even worse >:(!!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** What! That doesn’t even make any sense!

 **Scorpiaaa:** OMG CATRA  
**Scorpiaaa:** THAT’S THE ILY SIGN

 **catra😈:** omggg what  
**catra😈:** im so sry i didnt know!!!

 **Adora🌻:** Haha, don’t worry, it’s fine!!  
**Adora🌻:** <3

 **catra😈:** <3  
**catra😈:** idk any sign lang at all tbh

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Really, Catra?

 **bow🏹:** do u swear to tell the truth

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** The whole truth

 **bow🏹:** n nth but the truth?

 **catra😈:** yea  
**catra😈:** wait no i lied  
**catra😈:** i do know one

 **bow🏹:** o rly? 

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Which one?

 **Adora🌻:** Omg no don’t do it

 **Scorpiaaa:** CATRA NO

 **catra😈:** [image: extended middle finger selfie]  
**catra😈:** CATRA YES >:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my longest chapter so far! Hope you like it :D Thank you for your support & kind comments! [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	11. Chapter 11

“Hello everyone! Isn’t it such a great day today?” Scorpia is earlier than usual this Wednesday morning. As if on cue, thunder rumbles across the sky rather ominously.

Catra had tossed and turned for most of the night due to the torrential downpour. It is definitely not a “great day.” With the misty rain and gray sky, it may even be a stretch to call it a “day.”

But it is _Scorpia,_ after all. If she says that it is a great day, no one in their right mind will disagree with her. At the chorus of sleepy _hellos,_ she shoots a sunny smile at everyone.

Catra waits for her to get settled before passing over her cup of earl grey milk tea.

Scorpia shoots out a grateful, “Thanks!” and ruffles her hair affectionately, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to swat her hand away. She takes a long sip, eyes fluttering close in pleasure. “Hmm.” She smacks her lips, then takes another sip, eyebrows raising as she finally registers the taste. “This is different!”

“Mmh.” Catra hums, avoiding her gaze. “Do you like it?”

“Yep! It’s really good!”

Unfortunately, Scorpia turns the cup around to check the logo printed on the cup, foiling Catra’s best efforts at positioning the cup strategically to prevent such a catastrophe from happening. “Thaymor café? Isn’t that on the other side of campus?”

“Yeah, I, uh, discovered it a few days ago?”

11 days ago to be exact, but who is counting? Not Catra, of course. She may or may not have it written down in her diary. And decorated it with little hearts.

At her uncharacteristic behavior, Scorpia gives a considering _hmm_ as she scans Catra from head to toe. She knows her too well to think that the change of establishment is merely a passing fancy.

Catra fidgets under her intense scrutiny, looking shifty as per usual. She has nothing to hide, but anyone subject to her piercing gaze would confess to crimes which they did not even commit.

Finding nothing unusual with Catra, Scorpia looks around suspiciously.

_Shit._

Catra tries to position herself to block Scorpia’s laser gaze.

A loud _SLUUURP!_ coming from behind her foils her plan spectacularly.

Scorpia’s eyebrows shoot all the way up to her hairline while Catra’s heart sinks all the way to the floor.

Scorpia leans to the side to catch a better view, but Catra stretches in the same direction to block her line of sight. Scorpia’s eyes dart to her face, and upon catching sight of her forced smile that looks more like a pained grimace, Scorpia smirks as she sits up straight to look over her. And Catra... even when all puffed up, is still too short to block her view.

Catra winces internally at the inevitable confrontation as she turns around to face Adora.

Locking eyes with Scorpia, Adora takes another long and loud slurp of her chocolate macchiato.

Catra mouths at her. _What are you doing?_

Adora gives her an innocent look. _Nothing!_

Catra turns back to look at Scorpia. She also takes a long and loud slurp of her earl grey milk tea.

Catra bites on her lip when neither of them backs down, caught in the middle of all that posturing and incessant slurping. Scorpia can be a little overprotective of her, in the same way that Bow and Glimmer can be a little overprotective of Adora.

Then Adora and Scorpia begin to look a little red-faced at the rate at which they are inhaling their drinks.

_Why are they so NOISY and DUMB?_

Catra vaguely wonders if Bow and Glimmer are going to intervene, if only to prevent them from dying.

Right as the thought flits through her mind, a laugh nearly bubbles out of her. Bow and Glimmer, seriously? Bow is too much of a pacifist and Glimmer is notoriously bad at de-escalation. She will probably be the one who goads them into full-blown fighting instead.

With a quick glance at them, she reaffirms the notion that she is right, after all.

She is always right.

Glimmer is shaking a clenched fist at them, probably shouting _FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!_ except that Bow is muffling her yells with one hand, while his other hand is flailing about as he fumbles with his phone.

Seriously.

There will be no fighting today, thank you very much. Catra is here for her education and no one will stop her from getting one. No one will be suffocating to death on chocolate macchiato and earl grey milk tea respectively, not on her watch.

She clears her throat loudly once. Twice. Thrice. Until she is coughing and almost choking. Adora and Scorpia shoot worried glances at her as they finally stop their pissing contest.

Scorpia starts patting her back comfortingly. Not wanting to lose, Adora also pats her back soothingly.

The two of them glare at each other out of the corners of their eyes as they increase the frequency and strength of patting until Catra actually begins to choke for real.

“I’m.” _Wheeze._ “Okay.”

“Stop with that noise, Catra.” Professor Shadow Weaver says, unconcerned that one of her students is choking to death. “Lecture is about to start soon.”

“Stop.” _Gasp._ “Patting.” _Huff._ “Already!”

With a loud clearing of her throat, she manages to take enough air into her lungs. Sweet, sweet air.

Problem solved, even if she had to hack up a whole lung during that ordeal.

Belatedly, she realizes that Adora’s hand is still lingering on her back.

“You okay?” Adora asks, her hand moving in small circles.

Catra shivers at the warm touch. She says hoarsely, “Yeah.”

Seeing her shiver pitifully, Adora asks, “Are you cold?” But before she can reply, Adora shrugs out of her jacket. Instead of merely passing it over to her, she flips it around and holds it up for her to...

Red-faced, Catra slides her arm into the sleeve.

She turns her back to Adora to do the same for the other side, and that is when she catches sight of the considering look on Scorpia’s face.

Scorpia knows about her hopeless crush on Adora, after all. She may have misconstrued her actions. Catra wants to tell her that Adora is just nice like that. She will do it for anyone.

When the considering look transforms into one that is crafty instead, Catra’s heart sinks. She is definitely up to something. And she is usually accompanied by Perfuma, the two of them being a professional tag team with unparalleled chemistry. Catra would know, because she made the mistake of playing paintball with them once.

Never again.

Even if they had all been on the same team, Perfuma somehow managed to use her wide guileless eyes and plain emotional manipulation to talk her way out of her oh-so-careless-and-honest mistake of shooting Catra.

In the back.

Multiple times.

Even when Catra had kept her back to the wall and an eye out for Perfuma, that sneaky little devil, after the first time.

Instead of trying to decipher Scorpia’s _look_ , she turns back to Adora with a small smile on her face. “Thanks.” The jacket hangs loosely from her shoulders but it makes her feel all warm and cozy. She likes it.

“No problem!” Adora smiles back. Her eyes flick down and up again. With a small smirk, she leans close to whisper, “You look very cute.”

Catra feels her face heat up. Adora knows that she hates being called cute because it does something funny to her insides. She bares her teeth like a pissed-off cat and hisses, “I’m not cute!”

Adora raises her hands in a conciliatory gesture, but there is still a stupid grin on her face. She seems to find an angry Catra, who is dwarfed by her jacket, amusing.

Catra ignores her. But when she is certain that nobody is looking at her, she tucks her chin into the jacket. A hint of something uniquely _Adora_ wafts over, which sends a tingling sensation up her spine.

She likes it. She likes the warmth and the smell and the thought behind her kind gesture. She wants to wrap herself up in it forever.

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**bow🏹:** [image: adora helping catra into her jacket]  
**bow🏹:** so chivalrous omggg 🥺🥺  
**bow🏹:** how do i find someone like this??

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Excuse me?  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** I’m right beside you.

 **bow🏹:** o,,, to be a damsel in distress

 **catra😈:** WHOS THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS???!!!

 **Adora🌻:** I think he means you, HAHA

 **bow🏹:** meeting a knight in shining armor..,,

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Also, you wouldn’t be cold if you’d just stop wearing crop tops.

 **catra😈:** i'll show u what it means to be IN DISTRESS

 **Scorpiaaa:** Catra!! For the last time, that’s MY LEG!!!

 **Adora🌻:** What are you doing with Scorpia’s leg??

 **catra😈:** oops. nth

 **Scorpiaaa:** She keeps kicking me while trying to get to Bow!!! >:(

 **bow🏹:** n riding off into the sunset tgt...,.,mmmn.,

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** It’s okay, he’s fallen asleep already

 **catra😈:** thank FUCK

* * *

After the economics lecture, Bow and Glimmer rush off for their next lecture with hasty goodbyes. Bow better run, because Catra is going to have her revenge someday.

 _Ding!_ Scorpia hastily pulls out her phone to read the incoming message. Glancing up at Adora and Catra, she asks, “Lunch?” in a nonchalant tone. But it sounds too... casual to be _just_ lunch.

“Sure!” Adora chirps before Catra can stop her.

Scorpia gives a little grin. “Do you mind if I invite someone else to join us?”

_Someone else._

_Why is Scorpia being so vague?_

Then Scorpia slings a casual arm around Catra’s shoulders. Catra knows that it is not supposed to come off as a proprietary gesture, but Adora’s eyes narrow slightly.

Catra tries to duck out of her hold, but Scorpia’s hand tightens as if Catra may try to make a run for it—

Of course.

_“Someone else.”_

Who else would Catra run from?

* * *

“New jacket, Catra?” Perfuma says, rather unnecessarily, as if she does not recognize Adora’s signature red jacket. They are walking in twos, Perfuma and Scorpia leading the way to their favorite vegan café while Catra and Adora trail behind them.

“Yeah.” Catra smirks at Adora. “It’s mine now.”

Adora rolls her eyes as she bumps her shoulder. “It’s yours, huh?”

“Yep, I’m never going to return it.” Catra thinks she is only half-joking because it is so comfortable. _Good luck in trying to get it back from me now._ She smooths the jacket over her body. “What’s yours is mine...”

Adora raises a brow. “And what’s yours is mine?”

“Nope. What’s mine is also mine.” Catra cackles when she sees Adora's unamused expression.

Adora shakes her head exaggeratedly and tuts in mock disappointment. “I’m beginning to think that you aren’t pulling your weight in this relationship”—Catra’s heart stutters—“This may be a dealbreaker, after all.”

Catra plays along. “Just because of one jacket? What about the kids?!”

Adora’s eyes widen in surprise. “When did we have more than one?”

“I just found out today.” Catra lays a hand over her stomach, cradling it tenderly. “I’m...”

Adora lets out a loud gasp. She wipes an invisible tear from the corner of her eye as she says, “I’m so sorry babe, I didn’t know.”

Catra turns her head away to hide the smile threatening to appear on her face. “It was supposed to be a surprise. But if you want to leave us...” She begins shrugging out of the jacket.

“Never!” Adora says, laying a hand on her shoulder to stop her. With a determined look in her eyes, she says, “I’ll support you and the kids.”

“Thanks... babe.”

Adora huffs out a laugh at her expression. “In case you need additional warmth...” She curls an arm around her shoulders. “Since you’re carrying my child, after all.”

“Who says it’s yours?”

Adora clutches at her chest with her free hand as she staggers, and, well, there is nothing else Catra can do but wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from stumbling.

She just does not want both of them to fall on their faces, that is it.

Then she hears Perfuma cough out, _They’re married._

There must be something wrong with her ears.

 _Very domestic,_ Scorpia tries to whisper back, but she fails at the whole whispering thing.

Okay, never mind, her ears are working fine.

Catra bites on her lip to stop the blush from suffusing her face. She sneaks a look at Adora, who is looking back at her with a dopey grin on her face. And then they both burst into uproarious laughter.

* * *

They reach Plumeria, a vegan café tucked away in a corner of their campus. Catra feels the chill from the cold air disappear once she steps into the café. Her eyes widen as she takes in the abundance of plants and the random assortment of knick-knacks: fairy lights, glittery decorations, and sparkly curtains hanging from the ceiling which catch the light as they sway.

Perfuma greets the café owners, Spinnerella and Netossa, with warm familiarity. They pore over the menus for a few minutes, then, with their lunches in hand, they make their way up to the second floor. Lined with an assortment of hanging and potted plants, it gives off a charming and homey atmosphere.

“This place is really nice!” Adora gushes as she takes in the surroundings.

Catra eyes the way light reflects off the furniture in a rainbow sheen. “And gay.”

“It’s a queer-affirming space,” Perfuma says, running a hand along some leaves which seem to brighten at her touch. Catra has no idea what that means, but Adora and Scorpia nod in understanding, so she nods along. “Spinnerella and Netossa designed it after they got married!”

Catra plonks down into a chair unceremoniously, and she pulls one out for Adora, but—

“Wait!” Perfuma exclaims. She turns to Scorpia and mouths something like _I can’t read her aura from afar,_ which does not make any sense at all. Scorpia nods in blank understanding, the message probably gone over her head.

Then, Perfuma says with total confidence, “Scorpia wants to sit there!”

“I do? But I want to—” Scorpia looks glumly at Perfuma. “Uh, I mean... I do?” She says it again with no more conviction than the previous time.

“Yup!” Perfuma places her hands on Scorpia’s shoulders and pushes her into the seat next to Catra's.

Adora quickly takes the seat opposite to Catra, and Perfuma sits opposite Scorpia.

Well, whatever. Catra is starving. She digs into her lunch, a meatless burger and bowl—yes, a bowl—of floral tea. As she bites into her burger, the juices from the toppings ooze out. Her tongue darts out to lick it up, but it probably ends up smearing all over her lips. The buns are buttery and lightly toasted, the patty is juicy, and it is definitely among the top five burgers she has tried in her life. A little moan of appreciation slips out.

Then she looks up, only to see Adora staring at her. _Oops._ Embarrassed at the way her cheeks are stuffed full like a squirrel, she swallows the mouthful in a hurry.

“You have something on your...” Adora says as she gestures at her own mouth.

Catra, like the little gremlin she is, uses the back of her hand to wipe her mouth roughly instead of using the napkin laying perfectly right in front of her. “Is it gone?”

“There’s still a little...” Adora picks up the napkin and gestures for her to lean forward.

Cheeks flushing slightly, Catra obliges. Adora dabs at her mouth carefully while holding her gaze, her lips curling into a fond smile. Her tongue peeks out of her mouth in concentration, and Catra cannot help but huff out a laugh, which makes her head pitch back slightly.

“Stop moving, I can’t reach you!”

Catra tries to hold her head steady, but she feels giddy and inexplicably happy. “I’m not!”

“You totally are!” Adora exclaims, and she reaches out—

At the same time, Catra leans forward—

Which results in the napkin smacking against Catra’s cheek.

Catra lets out a gasp of betrayal as she cradles her cheek, looking exactly like a damsel in distress. “How dare you!”

Adora lets out a peal of laughter at her indignant expression. “See! This is what happens when you keep moving.” Left with no other choice, she raises her free hand to cup Catra’s chin. Held in place, there is nothing else Catra can do but let her mouth fall open in shock as she feels Adora slide the napkin over her mouth, and somehow it feels as though she can feel her thumb pressing directly on her lips—

Which is when Perfuma spoils the moment, of course.

“Wow! I like your nails, Adora!”

They jolt back in shock.

“Huh? My nails?” Adora looks at her blankly, then turns her gaze toward her hands. Realizing that she is still holding onto the napkin, she drops it on the table. “Oh, Catra painted them for me!”

“Hm.” Perfuma hums in consideration. “Catra’s great, right?”

Catra glares at Perfuma, eyes shooting daggers at her. _Stop fishing for information!_

Perfuma’s eyes widen in mock innocence. _I’m not!_

“Yep! She painted them really nicely.” Adora extends her fingers for Perfuma to see, and a grin blooms on her face when Perfuma makes the appropriate oohs and ahhs. Darting a quick look at Catra, she says, “Thanks again, Catra. You’re awesome.”

Catra feels her face heat up. She will never get used to Adora complimenting her in such a straightforward manner.

Adora is _dangerous_.

Perfuma, encouraged by the proceedings, seems to take it as a go-ahead to fish for more information.

Catra carefully aims a kick in Perfuma’s direction, but—

“Ow!” Adora yelps.

_Fuck._

“Shit, sorry!” _Oh my god, I just kicked her in the shin. Right after she complimented me._

In a bald lie, she says, “I was just, uh, stretching?” even though her body language totally suggests otherwise: her hands are gripping the edge of the table and her upper body is tilted backward as if aiming a kick at...

Perfuma subtly angles her body away, which results in her legs being out of Catra's range. Her eyebrows are raised in surprise, though, because Catra rarely owns up to her mistakes. She would rather throw someone else under the bus than admit she was wrong. She could have easily claimed that it was Scorpia’s fault, and Scorpia, bless her wonderful heart, would have played along.

“It’s okay!” Adora huffs out a laugh, and Catra smiles back at her, and they are back in their own world again.

Maybe Adora is a good influence on Catra, Perfuma thinks.

Maybe Catra is trying to be a better person because of Adora.

Then.

“Here, as an apology,” Catra says with faux generosity as she transfers the side salad from her plate to Adora’s.

“Thanks?” Adora makes a face, but she eats them dutifully.

Scorpia breathes out a sigh of relief, glad that Catra has found someone else to dump her vegetables on.

* * *

Finally done eating, they sit back as they drink their teas.

“That was... surprisingly delicious,” Catra says grudgingly as she sips on her peppermint tea.

“It is, isn’t it! They have such delicious food, and the atmosphere is so cozy...” Perfuma says, pausing for a pointed moment. “Perfect for a date, haha!”

Catra chokes. Her bowl clatters onto the table as she clears her throat furiously in what is probably a massive overreaction to a harmless statement.

Scorpia pats her back in concern. Catra is grateful for that, but she is not close to being forgiven for the ultimate betrayal of all time—conspiring with Perfuma.

At the sudden commotion, Adora looks up from her bowl of tea. “You okay?”

Catra finally catches her breath and wheezes out, “Yeah.” She stares at her bowl, looking at the slice of lemon floating on the surface. It is so fascinating. She pokes the lemon with her spoon and watches it bob up and down. Maybe if she stares at her bowl for long enough, she can avoid the whole conversation that Perfuma wants to have.

“What’s your ideal date like?” Perfuma asks around, but Adora studiously avoids her gaze as she takes another sip of her tea, and Catra stays quiet just to spite her.

Scorpia glances around, puzzled at the sudden silence, then says, “Anything with you! Obviously, haha!”

“You’re obligated to say that, though.” Perfuma pouts.

“Doesn’t make it any less true.” Scorpia grins.

They gaze at each other with heart eyes, and Catra and Adora share a _look_. Catra discreetly inclines her head toward them and pulls a face, which causes Adora to let out a loud snort.

Perfuma’s head whips around to stare them down. “What about you two? Platonic date, romantic date, whatever floats your boat, of course.”

“What’s the difference? Aren’t both of them just like... hanging out?” Catra wonders aloud.

Perfuma looks stumped. She hems and haws and finally says, “Well, yeah, but like, they’re just different?” There is a _look_ on her face like she thinks Catra is being purposely obtuse, which she is, but she also genuinely does not know.

“So, like the four of us? We’re hanging out... but also... are we on a date?” Catra gasps. She jabs Scorpia in the side, who yelps in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me that we’re on a date? I would’ve worn nicer clothes.”

“Isn’t this one of your nicer clothes already?” Scorpia would know, because Catra had bombarded her with a flurry of pictures at 3 am, asking her what she should wear for her not-dates with Adora.

Perfuma shakes her head wildly because she cannot deal with this. “Nooo. I mean, there’s the intent behind it, you know?”

But _intent_ is such a nebulous thing, especially for someone as emotionally stunted as Catra.

Rather truthfully, Catra says, “I wouldn’t know the difference? I’ve only ever had friends. And they’re mostly at this table.” She ducks her head in embarrassment, missing the shadow that flits across Adora’s face.

Scorpia wraps an arm around her shoulders and squeezes her. “It’s okay! You’re our best friend! Who needs dates when you have friends like us!”

Perfuma sighs.

Catra smiles as she leans into the hug. “Thanks, Scorp.”

“What about you, Adora?” Perfuma asks.

Catra’s ears perk up, then she tries to play it cool.

Adora’s fingers come up to twirl her ponytail nervously. “Spending time with someone who understands me, I guess,” she stammers out, not looking at them. Her mouth opens as if to say more. And closes. And opens again. With her cheeks flushing slightly, she finally says, “Someone who, uh... makes me laugh.”

Then, the corner of her lip quirks up as if thinking of the person who is oh-so-amusing.

Catra hates them already.

 _Funny_ is not something people would use to describe Catra. _Mean_ would be more accurate, and that is such a far cry from _funny_. Wait, can mean people ever be funny? Perhaps, perhaps not; she has no idea.

Perfuma’s eyes widen slightly at Adora's words. “Do you have... someone in mind?” She looks intently at Catra as if trying to communicate with her nonverbally.

But Catra only has eyes for Adora.

Adora’s blush deepens. She clears her throat as she fiddles with the hem of the tablecloth. Her eyes flick up for a moment to meet Catra's. In a small voice, she says, “Yeah.”

Catra’s heart sinks even further.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Perfuma & Catra]**

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** omg !! tell me how it goes!!!

 **catra😈:** what???

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** adora ?? she basically said that she likes u

 **catra😈:** no she doesnt  
**catra😈:** she said sb who  
**catra😈:** 1) understands her and 2) makes her laugh  
**catra😈:** n thats def not me

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wtf !! istg!!!!!!!!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** yall r rly in sync and u made her laugh like so many times  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** my intuition is nvr wrong!!!!!!!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** n i managed to read her aura too!!!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** it becomes all pink when she looks at u its honestly so bleh

 **catra😈:** u know whats BLEH???  
**catra😈:** read the first word ^

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** why r u so childish......  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** arent yall gg back to sch now?  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** stop msging me n go ask her !!

 **catra😈:** who tf msged me first???

* * *

Adora sees the scowl on Catra’s face as she types on her phone furiously. “Everything okay?”

Startled, Catra looks up. She hurriedly tucks her phone into her pocket. “Sorry! Yeah, everything’s fine. Perfuma was just being...” She makes a face.

“Perfuma?” Adora’s eyebrows raise in surprise, but she schools her expression quickly. “What did she want?”

“She wanted me to...” _ask if you like me._ Catra sneaks a look at Adora, who is peering curiously at her.

All of a sudden, she is overcome with intense fear.

Fear that she may be wrong. Fear that once the words leave her mouth, she may never be able to take them back again. Fear that they may lose the easy camaraderie they have between them.

Catra does not want to place herself in such a vulnerable position. Who would willingly subject themselves to that? And does Adora even like her in that way? Or is she just nice like that? Even when rejecting her, she will probably be super cool about it. She can practically imagine the downturn of Adora’s lips and the sheepish look on her face when she rejects her politely, “I’m sorry, Catra. I only see you as a friend.”

And Catra will always live with the certain knowledge that Adora does not like her in the same way.

Why ruin a perfectly good thing?

“She wanted me to...” _Quick, make something up!_ “Think about dating.” _Okay, that’s not entirely untrue._

She will wait. Bide her time. Figure out who Adora likes. And maybe... dispose of them in their sleep or something. Then get Scorpia and Perfuma to cover up for her. She pats herself on the back for coming up with such a foolproof plan.

“Think about dating?” A concentrated furrow appears between Adora’s brows when she sees the small smile on Catra’s face as if she is thinking of _someone special,_ when in actuality she is thinking about the possible ways to murder someone in their sleep. She prompts, “Is there, uh, anybody in mind?”

_You._

_It’s always been you._

Catra lets out a long breath and kicks up bits of gravel on the ground. _The best lies are based on truths, right?_ “Not anyone in particular, but... it’s just that I don’t know so much, you know?” She takes a little peek at Adora, who appears to be listening intently. Well, she may as well continue. She knows that Adora will not judge her.

“For most of my life, my foster parents were kind of controlling? I didn’t get to experience things like having friends. Or dating.”

“Oh.” Adora nibbles on her bottom lip. “But you’re free now, right? You’re living by yourself; you have the chance to do the things you want to do...”

Catra pulls a face. “Yeah, but the idea of putting myself _out there_ is so... daunting.”

“Are you scared?” Adora asks gently.

“No!” Catra exclaims on instinct. Then she thinks about it. “Maybe? I just don’t like the idea of being... inexperienced.”

Adora hums in commiseration because she is also in the same boat. “Why don’t you just try it out?”

Catra barks out a laugh. “It’s not that easy!”

“Isn’t it?” Adora stops walking, and Catra turns around to look at her. “Just go up to them and ask”—she licks her lips, swallows, then looks intently at her—“Do you want to go out with me?”

Catra’s heart stutters.

The slight quaver in her voice, the light blush across her cheeks, the determination in her eyes, and the lightly clenched fists at her sides...

Adora seems to have moved closer when Catra was lost in thought. The undecipherable expression is back on her face. It is a dangerous look; Catra may start getting _ideas_ if Adora keeps looking at her like that.

_The girl whom she likes is very lucky indeed._

The thought flits through Catra’s mind just for a second, but it is like being drenched with a bucket of ice water. A wave of jealousy rushes through her body, overpowering and suffocating.

She really wants to say, _Yes please, I would like to go out with you._ But there is no way that Adora likes her in that way. She has that girl of her dreams, after all. Catra cannot get that stupid smile she made when talking about them out of her mind. The words that eventually come out are, “So smooth... bro!”— _What the fuck?_ —“Are you sure you don’t have any experience?”

Then, to show how unaffected she is, and also to solidify her bro-ness, Catra punches Adora’s upper arm in a friendly gesture. Except that she may have misjudged her strength if Adora's pained _oof!_ is anything to go by.

“Oh fuck, sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you so hard!” Catra flails her arms uselessly when she realizes how her words sound. “Fuck, I mean, I didn’t mean to hit you at all!”

“I’m okay,” Adora wheezes as she clutches at her arm.

Catra reaches out to check if she is fine, but she flinches away. As if burned, her hand falls limply to her side.

Only now does she realize how much they used to touch. She feels as though she has made a mistake somewhere, apart from the glaringly big one of punching her right in the arm.

After a long moment, Adora finally says, in a way-too-casual manner, “Well, I think there’s a lot to work on.” 

“What?” Catra says in a small voice.

“As your... friend”—Adora darts a quick look at her—“I don’t think I can stand watching you beat people up when they confess to you.”

“It was an accident,” Catra insists. “I'm really sorry!” _And it’s not as if you were actually confessing to me!_

“We have to work on it, then.”

“We?”

“Yeah. I’ll help you out.”

“With what, exactly?”

“Dating.”

Catra cannot believe her ears. Is Adora actually suggesting— “You mean, help me. With dating. Like what, practice?” she says dumbly, her voice taking on an incredulous tone.

“Yes,” Adora says with conviction. “You said that you wanted to try it out, right? Well, you can try. With me.”

“What about—” _the girl of your dreams?_ Catra almost blurts out, but she will not shoot herself in the foot. “What about you? What’s it in for you?”

“Apart from saving myself from the embarrassment of watching you”—Adora mimics throwing a punch, and Catra huffs—“Just joking. I can gain experience too. And... you’re like the only single friend I have.”

_Oh._

_I’m her last resort then._

_Okay, fine, whatever._

She is used to not being high up on people’s priority lists. She would be lucky to be in their top 100. Maybe that is why it does not hurt as much this time round. But... it still stings. Maybe because the words come from someone she actually...

As if realizing her words were too harsh, Adora hurriedly says, “I mean, it’s obviously not just that! It’s also because we're comfortable with each other! It’s just practice, right?”

Catra bites her lip. Of course Adora does not want anything more with her. She probably just wants to practice so that she will be all cool and suave when she finally confesses to her girl. Catra knows about Adora’s never-ending strive for excellence. She must hate not being perfect at everything on the first try—

Catra stops thinking about that. She will take what she can get; it is what she has promised herself a long time ago. She will not ask for more. She will not think about Adora getting enough practice and then asking out the girl of her dreams with that _look_ in her eyes which will definitely make them say—

“Yes,” Catra says at the same time Adora says, “It’s okay if you d—”

They both stop talking.

Then they both start again. “You firs—” “You—”

After a long moment of silence, Adora gestures for her to speak first.

Catra hopes that she is not about to make a very big mistake. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Adora’s brows raise. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Us. Practice.” Catra tries to meet Adora's eyes but her body will not cooperate. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.” Adora swallows. “What are friends for?”

Catra is so used to those words that she barely feels the twinge of her heart anymore.

* * *

The walk back to campus is one of the most awkward moments of her life.

They probably need to talk about it.

Which is why neither of them is speaking.

They used to be so comfortable with each other. Conversations used to be effortless. But now...

_Maybe the whole thing is a mistake._

_Maybe Adora is regretting it already._

Catra has issues and she knows it. She is needy and full of insecurities. But she tries not to show them because she does not want to appear weak. However, the more she tries to repress her anxieties, the more they tend to flare up with a vengeance.

People like her simply do not get the things they want.

Despite knowing this...

She still wants.

She really wants.

She bites on her inner cheek and hopes her voice does not waver. “Are you sure about this?”

_Do you really want to, or are you just humoring me?_

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Adora sees the stiff way Catra is holding herself, and tries to lighten the mood. “Are you breaking up with me already? It’s only been five minutes.”

Catra attempts to crack a smile, but she feels weighed down by her emotions. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly instead. “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“I’ll let you know if there’s anything. The same goes for you, too.”

“Will you let me know when you don’t want”— _me?_ —“to... practice anymore?”

_When the time comes..._

_Will we still be friends?_

_Or will we go back to being strangers?_

If Adora notices the glistening of her eyes, she does not mention it. She seems to understand what she is really asking. “I’ll always be your friend.”

The tightening of her throat makes it difficult to swallow. She finally whispers, “Okay.”

From the corner of her eye, she notices Adora reaching out for her. She casually sidesteps away, pretending not to have noticed her outstretched hand, because she is barely holding it together.

“Okay,” Adora parrots.

They finally arrive at Catra’s next lecture. Catra clears her throat and inclines her head toward the restroom. “I’m going to the restroom first. See you?”

Adora glances at her. Her mouth opens. And closes. She ends up holding the restroom door open for her. “After you.”

Catra’s lips press tightly into a thin line. This is _her_ restroom. The restroom that she reserves for her breakdowns. But Adora is looking at her with concern in her eyes, and all she can do is hastily break eye contact and put one foot in front of the other until she reaches the sink.

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

She looks at the water gushing out of the tap. She grips the edge of the sink with unsteady hands, tapping against the porcelain to distract herself from...

She sniffs. Clears her throat. Sniffs again. Squeezing her eyes shut, she splashes water on her face, taking the opportunity to swipe roughly at her eyes.

She is teetering on the brink of tears, but she will not allow herself to fall. She is not weak.

Then.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Adora extend her arms in silent invitation. She bites her lip, hard, but the pain does not stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

 _Breathe in—_ She takes a stuttering breath, but all it does is draw her attention to the tightness of her chest, her unsteady breathing, and the tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes despite her best efforts at holding them back.

Chest burning and painful, she takes a wobbly step toward Adora. And another step. And another. Until she falls into her open arms.

Adora wraps her arms around her, holding her close, and all she can do is bury her head in the crook of her neck to muffle her sobs. She wants to say, _I like you so much,_ but her throat is all choked up. _Why don’t you like me back?_

“Is dating me really so bad?” Adora tries to joke, but there is a slight hitch in her voice.

It somehow makes her bawl harder. “No!”

_Stop being so nice to me!_

_How am I supposed to get over you when you’re so good to me?_

Adora holds her tightly as sobs rack her body. She rubs her back in a soothing motion, and gently asks, “Why are you crying?”

_Because you don’t want me._

_Because you don’t feel the same way._

_When I wake up someday..._

_You’ll be with the girl of your dreams._

_And I’ll be left with nothing but the memories of us._

It pulls a choked sob out of her. She shakes her head vigorously as she squeezes Adora even more tightly. “I don’t know!”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Adora murmurs against her hair, the quaver in her voice barely noticeable over Catra’s heaving sobs. She pets her head softly, her fingers carding through her hair. “You’re okay.”

_Will you hold them as tenderly as you’re holding me?_

_If so..._

_I never want to let go._

* * *

Slowly, her sobs ebb to short hiccups. She takes a big gulp of air, and then lets out a long exhale.

She feels numb. Hollow. Her eyes are definitely swollen. But at least the urge to cry is gone, and she does not feel that persistent lump in her throat anymore. It feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

All she feels are the swelteringly hot air of the restroom, and the pressing need to break out of the embrace which suddenly feels too restrictive.

She pulls herself away hastily. Averting her eyes, she says, “I’m sorry”— _sniff_ —“I’m fine.”

“Hey, don’t worry. It happens,” Adora says, voice wavering slightly when she sees her tear-streaked face. She raises a hand to wipe her cheeks with her thumb. Then, she brushes wet locks of her hair away from her face. Gives her one last pet on the head. “You’re okay.”

Catra swallows. She takes a deep breath. Lets it out. “Thanks,” she says, finally managing a small, but genuine, smile.

* * *

Catra rarely cries. It is a sign of weakness, something which has been instilled in her since she was young. There must have been a reason for today’s waterworks:

Maybe it was from being caught in the rain that morning. Maybe it was her lack of sleep the night before. Maybe it was the emotionally charged happenings of that day.

Regardless, it feels good to let it all out.

As she curls up in her bed that night, she falls asleep to Adora’s messages:

 **Adora🌻:** Hope you’re doing okay!  
**Adora🌻:** I always feel better after a good night’s sleep :)  
**Adora🌻:** Sweet dreams! Can’t wait to see you soon! xx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: ok so i want them to hug at the end. maybe get catra to return adora's jacket  
> also me: writes THAT
> 
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09) if u wanna yell @ me :)
> 
> kudos & comments are appreciated <3!!


	12. Chapter 12

The Next Day

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Can everyone upload the experiment data to this folder  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** [link: intro to econ shared folder]

 **Adora🌻:** Sure  
**Adora🌻:** Uh, I don’t have permission to access it

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Oops, my bad  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Ok, try again :)

 **Adora🌻:** Yup, it works now  
**Adora🌻:** I’ve uploaded Monday’s and Tuesday’s data

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Nice, thanks :)  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** We’re still left with Friday’s

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** @ **bow🏹** @ **catra😈**

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Hello???  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Bow? Catra?

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Bow & Catra]**

**bow🏹:** um  
**bow🏹:** do u have urs 👉👈

 **catra😈:** er  
**catra😈:** no  
**catra😈:** u too?

 **bow🏹:** yea...  
**bow🏹:** i saved mine on the sch com

 **catra😈:** same  
**catra😈:** fml

 **bow🏹:** are u free today? my seminar ends q late ahhh

 **catra😈:** yea i can do it later

 **bow🏹:** omggg thx so much!!~  
**bow🏹:** just log in to my accnt,, it shld be somewhere on the desktop  
**bow🏹:** username: bow0909, password: Gl!mm3r

 **catra😈:** lol ofc thats ur pw  
**catra😈:** ok i’ll update u

 **bow🏹:** thx again <3!!

 **catra😈:** what the fuck  
**catra😈:** never do that again

 **bow🏹:** why  
**bow🏹:** <3

 **catra😈:** are u sure u shld be doing that when i have ur pw in my hands

 **bow🏹:** FINE >:(  
**bow🏹:** LET ME KNO WHEN U ARE DONE

 **catra😈:** lmao i’ll think abt it

 **bow🏹:** HEY !!

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Bow & Adora]**

**bow🏹:** lmaooo is catra allergic to affection or

 **Adora🌻:** BOW  
**Adora🌻:** Have you read the group chat?

 **bow🏹:** she was like  
**bow🏹:** ......  
**bow🏹:** ??

 **Adora🌻:** We’re still missing Friday’s data

 **bow🏹:** hmm..,  
**bow🏹:** is sth wrong??

 **Adora🌻:** Yeah, Glimmer is waiting?

 **bow🏹:** that bad, huh  
**bow🏹:** brb

 **Adora🌻:** Bow???

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Bow & Glimmer]**

**bow🏹:** mayday mayday

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** What’s wrong?

 **bow🏹:** o,,, i never thought the day would ever come but,,,...  
**bow🏹:** my WORST FEAR..., MATERIALIZED !!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Are you okay?

 **bow🏹:** yea im okay <3  
**bow🏹:** its just that

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** THAT’S GOOD BABE  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** THEN YOU’RE ABLE TO UPLOAD THE DATA RIGHT

 **bow🏹:** ahhhh

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** DON’T TELL ME YOU DON’T HAVE IT??

 **bow🏹:** thats not impt rn !!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** EXCUSE ME??????

 **bow🏹:** ok so i nd to start from the beginning

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** OMG BABE I STG

 **bow🏹:** a long, long time ago,,, aka the first day of orientation

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** That was just like. a few months ago

 **bow🏹:** it was love at first sight for her  
**bow🏹:** she couldnt take her eyes off the girl of her dreams

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Lol probably because of her crop top

 **bow🏹:** hahaha its definitely bc of that crop top  
**bow🏹:** its so fashionable im jealous

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ok.

 **bow🏹:** but then crop top girl disappeared after that day !!!  
**bow🏹:** o,, what a cruel world we live in,,

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** What a tragedy.  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Whatever should she do.

 **bow🏹:** BUT by a stroke of luck, she saw her again in lec !!  
**bow🏹:** n imagine her happiness when crop top girl asked if she wanted to spend time with her <3!!!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ehh...  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** People don’t “have fun” when doing group work, it just doesn’t happen  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** LIKE ME. I’M NOT HAVING FUN.

 **bow🏹:** sry babe :( REGARDLESS!!  
**bow🏹:** over time.,, they grew closer <3  
**bow🏹:** BUT THEN,,, DISASTER STRUCK

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** That seems to be a recurring theme, yeah

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** And?

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** That’s it??

 **bow🏹:** hehe see, u ARE invested in it !!

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** OMG you're so infuriating  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Fine. Tell me what happened between them

 **bow🏹:** this is why i lov u sm <33

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** I thought things were going fine though  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Knowing them, it’s probably something stupid

 **bow🏹:** ok so  
**bow🏹:** adora doesnt want to talk abt catra  
**bow🏹:** like . at all

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ok that’s strange, she hasn't shut up about her since the semester started  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** "Catra looked at me today"  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** "Catra's so smart and funny, did you hear her tell off SW"  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** "Catra's sneeze is so cute"  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Wait no, you were the one who said that

 **bow🏹:** yea then she immediately said that i was wrong  
**bow🏹:** n that all of her was cute, not just her sneeze -__-

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Ughhh. So gross  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Anyway. What happened?

 **bow🏹:** uhhhh,, adora seems sad ??  
**bow🏹:** n ykno she always buries herself in work when shes in a Mood :(  
**bow🏹:** uhh,,,,,, yea. thats all

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** What The Actual Fuck  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** So you don’t even know what happened?

 **bow🏹:** hey!! >:(  
**bow🏹:** ok fine yea idk what happened

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** ...  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** You  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Are  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** An

 **bow🏹:** o wait

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Absolute

 **bow🏹:** i do kno that catra is gg to the com lab today  
**bow🏹:** if u wna go find out~

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** And why is she going to the lab today  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** If I may so very politely ask?

 **bow🏹:** 👉👈  
**bow🏹:** we…  
**bow🏹:** may have...  
**bow🏹:** left...  
**bow🏹:** our data...  
**bow🏹:** in the sch com...

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** There, was it so difficult?

 **bow🏹:** youre not mad? 🥺🥺🥺

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** HAHAHAHAHAHA  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Of course not :)

 **bow🏹:** uhhhh  
**bow🏹:** nvm that was a mistake

* * *

“Explain.”

Glimmer, with arms akimbo, stares down at Catra. Or, at least, she tries to stare her down. Glimmer is not exactly the tallest person in the world. They are probably around the same height, with Catra sitting on a chair and Glimmer standing beside her.

“What,” Catra says flatly while staring at the computer display. There is a little frown between her brows as she tries to decipher Bow’s barely organized desktop, which is cluttered with all sorts of files. There is no logic or order to his file names too:

“fri new”  
“fri new final”  
“fri new final FINAL”  
“fri use this one”  
“fri use this one final”

Catra will be here for _hours._ But if Glimmer is here...

“Do you know which is the final one?”

Glimmer squints at the display. “Yeah, it’s this one.” She points to the totally innocuous “fri its rly this fuckign one final FINALFINAL.” “He always gets extremely frustrated by the end of it all, so he adds in a “fuck” for stress relief or whatever.” 

“Oh, okay." With speedy fingers, Catra uploads all the relevant files and starts packing her things. "Thanks, I would’ve been here forever if it wasn’t for you.” 

“No problem!”

“Bye, Glitter!” Catra yells as she flees from the computer lab.

“Don’t call me Glitter!”

Glimmer takes a moment to realize that Catra has just slipped out of her grasp. “No, wait!”

But Catra is long gone.

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**catra😈:** i've uploaded fri’s data

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** >:(

 **catra😈:** what, no thanks for me?  
**catra😈:** @ **bow🏹** fyi ur naming sys is absolutely FUCKED UP

 **bow🏹:** no it isnt??? 

**✨GLIMMER✨:** I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Catra’s right

 **bow🏹:** babe how could u do this to me

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Anyway  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Group meeting on Saturday?

 **Adora🌻:** Yeah okay  
**Adora🌻:** We can follow this template for our final report:  
1\. Introduction  
2\. Literature Review  
3\. Research Methodology  
4\. Results & Discussion  
5\. Limitations  
6\. Conclusion

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Nice, thanks!  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** We’re kinda done with 1 and 2  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** So we can focus on 3 and 4 on Saturday

 **Adora🌻:** Okay

 **bow🏹:** lol thats kind of ... a lot...

 **Scorpiaaa:** Sure! :D See you guys!

 **bow🏹:** but u kno me, im always happy to contribute

 **catra😈:** yea ok

 **bow🏹:** excited ~~ see u guys on sat~~

* * *

Saturday

Bow wants to take his words back. The Problem between Adora and Catra may have been worse than expected. 

Adora looks terrible. With dark eye circles and an evident lack of her usual enthusiasm, it looks like she has not been sleeping well. Catra does not look any better, too. Her usual scowl is back, but it is now combined with a murderous look in her eyes whenever he attempts to talk to her. 

The two of them converse in short, tense sentences. They barely look at each other for more than a second, and when their gazes happen to meet, they quickly break eye contact. To be exact, Catra averts her gaze, while Adora looks at her with puppy dog eyes.

Bow cannot take much more of this because it is severely affecting their productivity. At the rate they are going, they will probably be stuck in the library for three days and three nights. Bow does NOT want to be trapped in here for so long. He deserves to be frolicking outdoors, enjoying the warm sun and the beautiful flowers with Glimmer, who looks really stressed out because she is the sole powerhouse of their group right now.

If only there was a way to get them to stop avoiding each other. If only he could just lock them somewhere and get them to TALK...

Bow looks around at the open space. There is literally no privacy for anyone. The only rooms are...

_Oh._

_The phone booths._

Tucked away in the corner of every library section, they are tiny soundproof rooms for students to make phone or video calls.

An idea blooms in his head. If he can hack into the university’s telecommunications network...

_Hmm._

This is definitely way more interesting than any economics project. His strengths include hacking and being a good friend. Glimmer will surely understand... right? 

_Okay, here goes._

_Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!_

Catra glances at her phone and frowns at the incoming call from an unknown number, which is an automated spam call that he developed. Bow’s heart sinks when he realizes that Catra is about to pick up the call right there and then because she just does not give a fuck, but after a sharp _tsk!_ by Glimmer who looks furious at the disturbance, she rolls her eyes and strides off to the phone booth.

_One down, one to go._

But, as it turns out, he does not have to do anything.

Just two seconds after Catra leaves her seat, Adora starts becoming visibly antsy. She shifts restlessly in her chair and darts quick looks at Catra’s back. With a worried expression, she says to no one in particular, “Do you think everything’s okay?”

Bow is about to say, _Maybe you should ch—_

But Adora has already leaped out of her seat in a flash. “I’m going to check on her!” 

_Well._

_Okay then._

“I’m also going to—” Bow waves a hand in their general direction and scurries after them. When he sees Adora hovering outside the phone booth, wringing her hands nervously, he sends a little prayer to those above for the things he is about to do.

Catra should probably be coming out soon—

The door of the phone booth swings open. Catra looks like a deer in the headlights when she sees Adora standing right in front of her. And Bow, after she manages to drag her eyes away from Adora, but her gaze is noticeably icier.

With another prayer, he shoves Adora forward. She stumbles into the room with wobbly legs, almost losing her balance in the process.

_Sorry, Adora!_

_You’ll thank me later._

_Uh. I hope?_

Catra hurriedly lets go of the door—it swings shut with finality—to reach out for Adora, and Adora ends up sprawled in her arms.

_Whew! That could’ve been really bad._

Adora looks up at Catra with wide eyes. 

Catra looks down at Adora with tightly pressed lips.

Bow looks at both of them from the safety of the other side of the door.

With a tap of his phone, phone booth #05 locks with an audible _click!_

Only then does he let out a sigh of relief.

Still in each other’s arms, they do not even turn to look at his retreating back, which is totally fine by him. He hurriedly messages Catra before she breaks the door down. She has an extreme aversion to anything regarding her feelings, after all. She would rather resort to property damage instead of, you know, confronting the problem and talking it out. 

**bow🏹:** ill let u two out after u resolve ur thing  
**bow🏹:** pls PLS dont break down the door !!!

* * *

“I've taken care of them!”

Glimmer looks at Bow with surprise, her gaze maybe a little admiring. In a hushed whisper, she says, “Where are their...” She scans their surroundings for eavesdropping ears, and in a barely audible voice, “bodies?”

Bow takes a moment to understand what she is implying. His eyes widen incredulously. “No, I didn't “take care” of them in that way!” He flails his arms wildly. “That was only one time!”

Glimmer's lips press tightly into a line, adopting a stern look. “And it was one time too many, Bow.”

“It's fine; they're fine, I just locked them in a phone booth.” He inclines his head toward booth #05 and waggles his eyebrows. He hums, “Oh, I should set a timer before I forget about them!”

“That would be for the best, yeah.” Glimmer says, looking extremely unamused, as she turns back to her work.

Just sitting opposite them, with her head hidden behind her laptop, Scorpia does not move for a very long moment. She is trying to stay as still as a statue even though all her instincts are yelling at her to _RUN AWAY NOW!!!_

She wants to check on Catra, but... she does not even dare to breathe. What did she just overhear? Will they try to silence her if they know that she knows about their—

Haha, it is probably just an inside joke. Maybe they are into DnD or something? She is rather gullible and easy to fool, after all. But... to be safe, she should send out an SOS in case she also gets “taken care of.”

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Scorpia & Perfuma]**

**Scorpiaaa:** Hey dear <3

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** hi dearie !! <3 <3

 **Scorpiaaa:** In case you don’t hear from me again  
**Scorpiaaa:** It’s totally because of Bow and Glimmer

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** omg what??? u r joking rite ?? ahaha

 **Scorpiaaa:** I don’t know but I’m scared  
**Scorpiaaa:** It’s still bright out and I don’t think they’ll try anything in the library...?

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** okok, sit tight, ill come n stake out the area  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** the history bldg rooftop gives me a gd view of the lib, ill get my rifle n scope ready !

 **Scorpiaaa:** Hahaha thanks dear!  
**Scorpiaaa:** You’re so funny :D

 **Scorpiaaa:** Uh. You’re joking, right...?

* * *

_Bzzt! Bzzt!_

The buzzing of Catra’s phone breaks them out of their prolonged hug. Catra steadies Adora, pulling her up from the half-sprawl. “You okay?”

Adora clutches at her chest as she lets out a long breath. “Whew! I really thought I was going to die just now.”

Catra huffs out a laugh at her dramatics. “What’s up with Bow, seriously?”

“I know, right?!”

They grin at each other for a moment before memories from last Wednesday come flooding back. The smiles on their faces disappear as they take a hasty step back.

Catra looks at her phone instead. She scowls at the messages. “Bow says he’ll let us out after we... uh, resolve _our thing?”_

Adora’s eyes widen in shock. She turns around to grasp the door handle with both hands, trying to force it open. It rattles uselessly. “Shit, yeah, it’s locked.” 

Catra’s scowl becomes deeper. Furiously, she types out, _WHAT THE FUCKK!!!_

_Well._

_What now?_

She takes the only chair in the room and kicks her legs onto the desk. She may as well make herself comfortable in the meantime. Closing her eyes, she says, “5 minutes? 10 minutes?”

She solves problems by pretending they do not exist.

“What?”

“How long will it take to resolve _our thing?_ ”

“Um.”

“Whatever, wake me up when it’s a reasonable time.” Catra yawns. “I’m going to conserve energy so I can murder Bow later.”

“Oh. Okay? Count me in.”

With her eyes closed, Catra finally plucks up the courage to get to the crux of the matter. She licks her lips nervously. In a way-too-casual voice that belies her interest, she asks, “What does he mean by _our thing,_ anyway?” 

“I didn’t say anything!” Adora says hastily. 

_What’s there to say, anyway? That I had a breakdown in the school restroom? Eh, it occurs so frequently that it probably isn’t news anymore._

At the significant pause, Adora finally stammers out, “We haven’t been talking as much, maybe?”

Catra opens one eye to sneak a peek at her. She looks tired. Sad. They have not talked to each other since Wednesday.

_It’s only been three days, but it feels much longer than that._

_Has it felt as long for you as it has for me?_

Then she suddenly remembers that she was supposed to fish for information regarding Adora’s crush. She may as well do it now when Adora cannot escape from her. “Who...” She nibbles on her lip. _Do I really want to know, though...?_ She takes a deep breath and tries again. “You said that you liked someone?”

Half of her wants to know who it is, but the other half...

“Yeah, but…” Adora lets out a long and weary exhale. “I don’t think she likes me back?”

Catra suddenly sits up straight. She whips around to look at Adora, who is staring resolutely at the ground with a tight jaw.

Her heart starts beating a little faster.

_What._

She turns her gaze back to the desk in an attempt to hide the growing smile on her face. “Oh. That... sucks.” _That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life!_ “How do you know she doesn’t like you?” 

_She confessed to someone recently?_

_Why didn’t I know about it?_

She misses the way Adora’s head snaps up, her jaw dropping wide open.

“She said that she only thinks of me as a friend...?” Adora says tentatively, her arm curling over her stomach to grip her upper arm.

“What! She’s such an idiot!” Catra exclaims indignantly. She locks eyes with Adora and holds her gaze. Voice full of conviction, she reassures her, “Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

Adora stares at her with a funny look in her eyes. “You really mean that?”

“Of course!” Catra nods vigorously and hopes the gleam in her eyes is not too obvious. _Sucks to be that girl, but... maybe... I have a chance now._ “You deserve someone better.” 

_Like me._

Catra extends her hand out to Adora, wanting to soothe the hurt that is evident in her frame. For a long moment, Adora merely looks at her hand. Embarrassed, she starts to retract it, but Adora crosses the room in two determined strides to take her hand in hers.

Catra tugs her closer, craning her neck up as she comes closer. Then she squeezes her hand softly. “You’re so awesome, it’s definitely her loss!” After a beat, “There are so many other girls in the sea!” 

_LIKE ME._

With a confused expression, Adora corrects her, “You mean fish?”

“What? No? Why would I mean fish?” Catra looks at Adora as if she is being stupid.

For no rhyme or reason, Adora suddenly bursts into laughter. She laughs until tears gather at the corners of her eyes. Catra’s heart skips a beat at the sight of Adora laughing so hard that she cannot even catch her breath. She looks so pretty even with the dark circles under her eyes. 

Adora finally wipes the tears from her eyes, and then leans against the desk. She gives her a watery smile that maybe looks a little hopeful.

“Wow, I really thought you'd lost it for a second.” Catra pushes her chair back so she does not have to strain her neck to look up at her. Then the happenings from the past few days finally make sense to her. “Ohhh. So this is why Bow and Glimmer are so concerned about you. You must’ve been really down, huh.” 

“Glimmer?”

“Pshh.” Catra waves a hand in the air. “I don’t even know what she wanted to talk about, I ran off as soon as I could.”

Somehow, Adora’s smile becomes fond. As if thinking out loud, she murmurs, “Running away, huh…”

Catra knows that it is one of her bad habits, the urge to run away to escape from difficult situations. Like this one. She avoids Adora’s all-too-knowing gaze and fiddles with her phone instead. “Do you think it’s been long enough? Should I message Bow now?”

Adora lets out a noncommittal hum, seemingly deep in thought.

“Or!” Catra brightens. “We can stay here and play this new hockey game on my phone, I don’t really want to do the report anyway, haha.”

“Sure, we can stay here,” Adora says oddly. “Except...”

Catra looks up from her phone when Adora trails off, only to see her staring at her with a serious expression. “Wh—”

Adora takes hold of her hand gently and pulls her up—her phone clatters onto the desk—and she has no choice but to follow the motion. With another tug, she ends up standing between Adora’s legs which are stretched out beside her.

Almost at eye level, Adora looks directly at her. “We can do other things, too.”

Catra swallows. Dazed, she asks, “Prac—”

Adora trails her finger over Catra’s lips to shush her—just a light brush, but the word dies halfway in her throat. “Anything you want,” Adora says with an intent gaze. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

_Anything I want?_

_Is she saying..._

Heart thumping loudly in her chest, Catra’s eyes flick down involuntarily to Adora’s glossy lips, her half-formed thoughts already disappearing. When she feels the warm fingers encircling her wrist tighten slightly, she raises her gaze to meet Adora’s eyes.

She is giving her the _look_ again.

Catra inhales sharply, then her tongue darts out to wet her lips—Adora’s eyes flick down and up again—and then the charged air makes it difficult to breathe. There is a moment of tense silence, the anticipation making her feel giddy. The world narrows down until it is only the two of them. It is a matter of who will make the first move.

As it turns out, both of them make the first move.

At the same time.

Their noses bump against each other, hard.

“Ow!” “Ouch!” Catra’s head rears back. Her hand slips out of Adora’s grasp, flying up to touch her nose gingerly. Adora rubs her nose bridge with her face all scrunched up.

“Hey! What’s that for!” Catra exclaims, as if Adora had done it intentionally. She feels an urge to punch something, but she has learned her lesson. She crosses her arms and settles for a pout instead.

Adora glances at her mouth, entranced by the sight of her bottom lip jutting out cutely. She licks her lips, pain long forgotten. “Try again?” But since Adora is so... _Adora,_ she just has to ruin the moment. When Catra stares almost accusingly at her, she makes a kissy face and flutters her eyes at her, letting out “mwah mwah” sounds.

“Oh my god, stoppp.” Catra pushes against Adora’s stupid face, but the corner of her lips threatens to curve up because of how ridiculous she is. “You’re the worst kisser ever.”

That seems to break Adora out of her playful mood. “What!” She looks aghast. “I haven’t even kissed you yet!”

“Well.” Catra touches her nose with delicate fingers, glad that it does not feel tender anymore. “After _that,_ I’m not sure if that’s ever going to happen.”

“Nooo, Catra!” Adora wails as she extends her arms. “Come back!” she says, even though Catra is still standing in front of her. 

“You’re such an idiot.” Catra grins, and gives in to the urge to wrap her arms around her neck, leaning close to press their foreheads together.

“Please.” Adora huffs out a laugh, and Catra feels the warm exhale ghost over her mouth. “You’re definitely the bigger idiot,” she says with certainty, trailing her hands along Catra’s waist.

Catra scowls at her. “I’m not.”

Adora knows when to keep her mouth shut. “Anyway... are we trying again?” Her eyebrows raise hopefully.

“I don’t know, are we?”

Adora licks her lips. “I... did a little research.”

“You did? It doesn’t seem like it, though?”

“Ouch.” Adora would have clutched at her chest if her arms were not wrapped around Catra’s waist. “That hurts.”

“Yeah. My nose, too.”

“Still?”

“... No.”

“Okay, so. Kissing is both an art and a science.”

“Uh. Okay...?”

“Yeah." Adora's brows furrow in concentration. "First, we need to lean in at the right angle. Then, we need to move closer at a low velocity while maintaining eye contact. When we finally kiss, we need to exert a pressure of...”

Catra’s eyes glaze over.

“... assuming our lung capacity is around...”

Catra only jolts back to reality when she feels Adora pushing away from the desk. She quickly places her hands on her thighs to hold her back. “Where are you going?”

“I need to refer to my notes, I left them in my bag,” Adora says with a serious expression.

_What the fuck?_

Catra stares at her as if she has grown a second head. “No.”

“But...” Adora looks at the door in desperation. “I don’t remember all the steps!”

Catra digs her fingers into Adora’s thighs, which make her eyes flick back to meet hers. In a small voice, she asks uncertainly, “Do you”— _even_ —“want to?”

“Yes!” Adora hurriedly says, her face flushing pink. “But"—Catra leans in because she can barely hear her—"I want to make it good.” 

_Oh my god._

Catra cups Adora’s cheek gently. “Okay.” She lets her eyes travel down to Adora's mouth and up again, and hears the smallest hitch in her breath.

She leans in, watching Adora close her eyes and tilt her head instinctively, before doing the same. Their noses brush lightly this time around, and she presses a light, dry kiss on her lips. _Ohh. They’re so soft._ Then she does it again, just the barest brush of their lips, before pulling back. "How is it?"

Adora's eyes flutter open. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, leaving them a shiny pink. “Mmm. Again?"

Catra stares at her slightly parted lips. She probably has some lip balm on. It tastes like... 

She licks her lips, trying to place the flavor of her lip balm. It tastes of something fruity and sweet, maybe... strawberry or cherry. She needs to get more of that taste.

_Maybe I can just..._

She threads her fingers in Adora's hair, urging her forward. She runs her tongue over her lips, tracing the outline of her plump bottom lip. Adora lets out a soft, breathy sound when she sucks it into her mouth.

_Ah._

Catra pulls back because she just has to ask. “Strawberry?” 

“Wh—” Adora sways closer, lips chasing hers. “Yeah. I’ve been moisturizing my lips every night, I read that it’s best to apply lip balm before lipstick because it’ll keep the—”

Catra interrupts her by capturing her lips in another kiss, their parted lips slotting together perfectly. “Nice,” she breathes against her mouth, peppering her lips with little kisses. Then she nibbles on her bottom lip. “Soft.” 

Then.

Adora hooks a leg around her waist to pull their bodies flush against each other. 

_Oh my god._

Catra feels her face heat up at the hug. Her hands flutter nervously in the air before coming to rest on her back.

_Oh my god!!!_

_I can feel everything._

_She’s so warm._

_Soft, but firm._

After that, Adora takes the lead. She swipes her tongue across her lips, igniting all her nerve endings, and all Catra can do is clutch at the back of her shirt, wrinkling the fabric with her fingers.

Then Adora sucks her bottom lip into her warm mouth, which draws a moan out of her. She jolts back at the sound, feeling her face flush hotly. A string of spit connects their mouths, which makes her face burn even hotter. She wipes at her mouth and tries to catch her breath. “Um.”

Glazed eyes focus on her, tracking the movement of her lips distractedly. “Hm?”

Catra looks down to break the intense gaze, but it proves to be a mistake, because Adora's lips are wet and dark. She feels a little light-headed. _I did that._

Adora's breath ghosts over her face. “Keep going?” 

Catra nods dazedly, still staring at her mouth, so Adora grasps her chin between her thumb and fingers to tilt her head up, and then they fall back into the rhythm of kissing each other again, their tongues meeting soft and slow. 

When they finally break apart, Catra rests her forehead against Adora's. Both of them are panting heavily, their warm breaths intermingling. Adora smiles at her, and she finds herself smiling back.

* * *

Bow skips happily toward the phone booth when his timer goes off.

_They should have resolved it already, right?_

Then something terrible flashes across his mind.

_Wait._

_What if Catra..._

_No, she won’t._

_But Adora is such a softie when it comes to Catra._

_Fuck._

_What have I done?_

He peers through the slit window. To his absolute horror, he sees Catra pinning Adora to the desk.

_Oh no._

He fumbles with his phone and hurriedly unlocks the door, flinging it wide open. Immediately, he is hit with the sound of Adora moaning in pain. He yells, “Get away from—”

They jolt apart with a start.

_Wait._

_What._

_Okay, so._

_They weren’t fighting._

“What. The. Fuck!” His hands shoot up to cover his eyes. He tries to turn around to walk out of the door, but with his lack of coordination and temporary loss of sight, his head ends up hitting the door with a loud _thud!_ But it sadly does nothing to erase his memories of the last five seconds. He bangs his head against the door again and groans, “God, I really didn't need to see that.” 

He is absolutely scarred for life. 

“Don’t worry,” Catra says, cracking her knuckles and looking menacingly at him. “You won’t remember anything—”

“After we’re through with you.” Adora levels an icy glare at him.

“Please and thank you,” he squeaks out, because he is nothing but polite. He does make a small request, though. With his hands still covering his eyes, he cries out, “Can you please button up your shirts first?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip bow, his life of crime finally caught up to him. can we get an f in the chat?
> 
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09) if u wanna say hellooo :)
> 
> kudos & comments are appreciated <3!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> catra😈: u can’t just destroy me emotionally then change topics like that dude

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**bow🏹:** hey guys  
**bow🏹:** jst wanted to say that i suck  
**bow🏹:** and that catra is the best  
**bow🏹:** also ill be doing her part of the proj bc im such a gd friend !

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Yeah sure, then we’ll be done in approximately 1527 days  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** Pls bring Bow back ASAP, we still have lots to do

 **bow🏹:** ughhhhh

 **✨GLIMMER✨:** Don’t forget that I have a hostage here

 **Scorpiaaa:** Who?  
**Scorpiaaa:** I’m the only other person here?

 **bow🏹:** ughhhHH FINE

* * *

They walk back to their table, with Catra and Adora leading the way and Bow trailing behind, trying to figure out what they have done with his phone.

“I’m NOT going to do your work!” Bow yells indignantly when he reads his messages. A little belatedly, “Wait. How do you know my password?”

“Pshhh,” Catra says dismissively. She ticks off her fingers one by one, “4 digits, something related to Glimmer, definitely something vanilla”—“Hey!”—“so…”

Adora continues smugly, “Her birthday, of course.”

Bow groans. “You two are insufferable.”

Catra starts to roll up her sleeves. She does not want to get her best flannel shirt dirty when she pummels Bow, after all. When he catches sight of that, he intentionally slows his pace, creating some much-needed distance between himself and the two of them.

Adora hastily puts a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from assaulting Bow in public. “Hey.”

Catra is about to tell Adora not to stop her, but then Adora slides her hand along her back to rest on her waist, pulling her close. The proximity renders her temporarily speechless. The warmth of her body triggers a rush of memories of the… things that happened in the last few minutes.

Her brain grinds to a complete halt.

_Oh my god._

_I can’t believe I kissed her._

She gapes at Adora, her mouth making shapes as if wanting to say something, but not a single word comes out. Meanwhile, her face steadily becomes as red as a tomato.

_And then we even…_

“You okay? You look a little flushed.” Then Adora places the back of her hand on Catra’s forehead. There is a small furrow between her brows as she tries to feel for her temperature. After a few moments, she finally removes her hand, and Catra can breathe again—

Then Adora leans close to touch her forehead with her own.

That proves to be the last straw. Catra’s brain fizzles out.

_Uh…_

_What was I…?_

_Oh. Her lipstick is slightly smudged._

Catra’s hand comes up to touch her mouth, wondering if there are traces left on her as well. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips in a smooth motion, tasting a faint hint of strawberry. Adora’s breath hitches sharply, and then she cradles Catra’s head…

Catra tilts her chin up, eyes closing instinctively. Then she hears a faint whooshing sound. Weird. Maybe it is the steam coming out of her ears, her face does feel rather hot. Then the whooshing becomes too obnoxious and too loud to ignore. And there is a distinctive masculine tone to the sound.

Adora pulls back and groans. “Bow!”

Catra whips around to glare at Bow, who is looking off to the side with lips pursed. He seems to be trying his hardest to whistle nonchalantly, but he just ends up breathing noisily. _Why is he still here._ Turning back to Adora, she says, “Do you regret stopping me?”

“Yes.” There is a distinctive frown on Adora’s face, but it smooths out when she sees Catra’s cute scowl. “But now we know how to shut him up.” Adora waggles her brows in an obvious leer.

Well, Catra is always ready to fight. She pulls her right elbow in, clenching her fist tightly. “One swift punch to the jaw?”

“No!” Adora places her hand over her fist, pushing it down with much resistance. “Something like…” Her face flushes slightly. Voice lowering to a hushed whisper, she says, “You know. PDA.”

_Ooh. Nice._

_That’s a good idea._

_But… Bow needs to suffer a little more._

Deliberately misunderstanding her, Catra says, “PDA? With BOW?” She tries her best to look appalled despite an overwhelming urge to break out in laughter.

“What? No! Obviously not!” Adora groans in frustration. “You’re making me want to pull my hair out!”

Catra places a hand behind her ear, cupping it exaggeratedly. In a voice loud enough for Bow to hear, she says, “Adora? You’re telling me to pull Bow’s hair… affectionately?”

Bow squeaks. Then he finally shuts up, which leaves Adora staring at her with a puzzled tilt of her head. “How can that be affectionate at all?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Oh my god. Can you two just”—The two of them swivel their heads to look at Bow at his untimely interruption, and Catra cracks her knuckles—“It’s nothing! Just pretend I’m not here!” Then he thinks about it. “Wait, no, that’s exactly the problem!”

But they are back to doing whatever they are doing, and he goes back to suffering quietly in the background.

“Want a demonstration?” Catra asks. Her hand comes up to rest on Adora’s neck, fingers brushing the wisps of hair on the nape of her neck.

“Wha—” Adora’s mouth falls open when Catra drags her fingers upward, fingernails scraping against her skin lightly. “How do you know such things?”

 _The Internet, of course._ “Here and there.” Her splayed fingers close around a bunch of her hair, tugging on it lightly. “So? You never answered my question.”

“Uh. Okay?”

“Guys!” Bow exclaims when he sees them touching each other in public. “There are people here!”

Catra glances around. The library is closing soon, so all the tables are unoccupied. She looks at him with a puzzled frown. “Who?”

Bow waves his arms in disbelief. “Me!”

Catra looks at him for a few moments. It seems as though she is looking down on him even though she is physically shorter than him. With her fingers threaded firmly through Adora’s hair, she pulls her down for a kiss. Adora’s surprised gasp transforms into an appreciative moan when Catra licks into her mouth hungrily. They kiss messily, then their lips finally part with a wet _smack!_

Bow dies a little inside, obviously regretting everything. He suggests, “Maybe you two should go back into the booth?”

“Good idea,” Catra says. She grabs hold of Adora’s hand and begins tugging her along.

Adora follows her in a daze. Then she stops in her tracks. “No. We still have to write our report!”

Catra groans. “Why bother? I’m fucked already.”

“What do you mean?”

The mood suddenly shifts.

The relaxed atmosphere around them disappears entirely, leaving the three of them standing in the middle of the library in silence. Even Bow looks concerned when he sees the dejected tilt to Catra’s face.

She really does not want to talk about it. But with two pairs of eyes looking at her, she has no choice but to mumble at her shoes, “I… got a C on my paper.”

“What paper?” Bow asks. “The grades are out already?”

Adora sees the sullen expression on Catra’s face, obviously not in a mood to talk. She turns to Bow. “The only paper we've done for econ, Bow. The grades were uploaded on Wednesday…” Then her eyes widen in understanding. She murmurs to herself, “Oh, that’s why you—” _cried that day,_ Catra can practically hear the unsaid words.

She had received the notification while they were on the way back to campus. Realizing that she had gotten a C on a paper that constitutes 40% of her grade definitely fucked with her emotions.

The conditional scholarship that she is on requires her to be on “good academic standing.” She has fought too hard to get to where she is now, and without the scholarship, there is no way she can remain at university.

She would have to crawl back to her foster family, where all they do is belittle and make disparaging remarks about her. About how stupid she is, about how she has no future, about how she will never amount to anything in life. Why even bother trying when she will just fail in the end?

And… the final blow to her ego was that she had put in a lot of effort into the paper.

Her best just was not enough.

Catra averts Adora’s concerned gaze as she rubs her nose. “Whatever, it’s not a big deal.” But she cannot help her self-deprecation from rearing its ugly head. “I’m just stupid. My paper sucked.”

Adora frowns in obvious disagreement, placing a hand on her shoulder. She is about to comfort her when Bow interjects. “Really? I thought it was great, though. Yours was the one on monopolistic competition, right?”

Catra whips around to stare at him. “What?! You read my paper?” Then she looks accusingly at Adora because she was the only one who had access to her paper. “Did you email—” But Adora shakes her head with wide innocent eyes, looking equally perplexed.

“Uh, yeah? I keep tabs on… you know, the university course site,” Bow says blithely as if it is not a big deal. “Just to see the standard for this course?” At their incredulous stares, he tries to explain, “So that I know how much effort I need to put into my work?”

Catra is stunned. “You mean, you… what, hacked into the course site?”

“I wouldn’t say “hacked” but like… I just… accessed the database,” Bow says, looking extremely shifty.

“That’s hacking, isn’t it.” Adora seems to be viewing Bow in an entirely different light. Maybe this is why he can afford to sleep in lectures. “How do you know these things but not know your grade?”

“Eh, I mean, I can easily chan—” Bow snaps his mouth shut. “I haven’t done anything!” But a shadow seems to flit across his face as though he is recollecting something terrible. He reluctantly admits, “At least, not in university. Academic dishonesty and everything. I take it very seriously.”

“What the fuck.”

“Anyway! That’s not the point! Adora, what did you get?”

Adora darts a quick look at Catra before leaning in to whisper in Bow’s ear.

Bow nods, then he turns to Catra. “Your paper is definitely not a C, even with the bell curve and everything. I would know, I literally read almost all of the papers.”

“What. The. Fuck.”

Adora suggests, “Maybe you can get Prof to mark it again…?”

Catra just gives her a _look._

“Riiight, that’s not a good idea.”

“She’d probably mark it down another grade,” Bow says with a grimace. “Maybe we can get a third-party to review it? I can ask my dads, maybe they’ll know what to do.”

A lump wells up in her throat. Maybe this is what it feels like to have friends who care about her. Friends who may be operating outside the law, but friends who stick by her through thick or thin.

“Thanks, Bow. Adora.”

* * *

“Where have you guys been?” Glimmer asks, her mouth set in a firm line. They are about to come up with three contrasting explanations when she rolls her eyes. “Just kidding, I don’t care. Can we please continue with our rep—”

An announcement blares throughout the library, “The library is closing in five minutes.”

Glimmer stares despondently at their group report. The blinking cursor seems to be mocking her. She scans through the half-page long report and slumps back in her seat in apparent defeat.

Meanwhile, Scorpia, with her head still buried behind her laptop, is packing her things in a hurry. Just before she closes her laptop, Catra manages to take a peek at her screen. She frowns when she reads what Scorpia has been working on. “Last will and testament?”

Scorpia jumps, slamming her laptop shut. She turns to look at Catra with apparent relief. “Oh my god, you’re okay! I got really worried for a sec— min— hour.” She pats Catra’s face as if trying to assure herself that she is really alive.

Catra is too flabbergasted to bat her hands away. “What? Why?”

“You won’t even believe what happened! They were talking about... Then I told Perf— Oh, I should go to the rooftop after this, I want to check if Perfuma is there.”

Catra makes a face at the thought of Perfuma organizing a romantic rooftop candlelight supper for the two of them. But unbeknownst to her, Scorpia wants to check if Perfuma is actually camping there with her rifle and scope... just in case.

With a serious look, Scorpia places her hands on Catra’s shoulders. She leans close to say, “Don’t look, but you should stay away from...” She shoots a side-eye at Bow and Glimmer, and lowers her voice to a hushed whisper that everyone can hear. “Them.”

Catra turns her head to follow her gaze.

“Not so obviously!” Scorpia yelps, her hand coming up to squeeze Catra’s cheeks, turning her head back to face her. Only then does she notice her red and slightly swollen lips. “What happened to your mouth?” She leans closer to take a look...

Beside them, Adora sees the two of them staring into each other’s eyes. “Okay, that’s enough.” When Scorpia appears to be pulling Catra’s face even closer, she quickly grabs hold of her wrist tightly.

It barely fazes Scorpia; it probably feels like a light tap to her, but she turns to Adora. Her eyebrows twitch up when she sees the light smear of her usually immaculate lipstick. “Oh?” Then she looks back at Catra, squishing her cheeks, which foils her attempt at rolling her lips into her mouth to hide the evidence. “Oh.” Then her head whips back and forth between the two of them as her eyes widen in excitement. “Oh! You two finally ki—”

“Guys!” Glimmer yells. “We’re nowhere close to being done!”

Scorpia breaks out in goosebumps when she hears Glimmer’s voice. She shoves her laptop haphazardly into her bag, and then hurls it over her shoulder in preparation for a speedy retreat.

Catra heaves a sigh of relief at Glimmer’s timely interruption. Then she notices Adora, who is trying to get rid of the stray traces of lipstick. She reaches up to wipe off the errant smear of lipstick at the corner of her lips. “It’s fine now.”

“Haha, thanks.” After a moment, Adora says, “Want me to walk you back today?”

_What?_

“Why?”

“Why not?”

_Many reasons._

_For one…_ “Coming over so late at night, people might talk.” Catra clutches her bag close to her chest and shoots a wary look at Adora, batting her eyelashes with faux innocence. She expects Adora to become flustered, but…

“My neighbors have sex almost every night, Catra. No one’s going to talk.”

“What!” _The. Fuck._

Adora smirks at her. “You do know what se—”

Catra hurriedly slaps a hand over Adora’s mouth to muffle her voice. No one needs to hear her say _that,_ because it conjures up… thoughts. Bad thoughts.

Certain that her face cannot become any redder than this, she hisses, “I know what s-s— _that_ is! Obviously!”

She waits for Adora to reply, but Adora merely raises an eyebrow. And gestures at the hand that is covering her mouth.

Oh. Her face can actually become even redder than that. She drops her hand hastily. Hearing Adora say _sex_ has obviously scrambled her brains.

Adora grins widely. Her dimple seems more pronounced than usual. “So?”

“What?”

“Walk you back?”

“…”

“No one’s going to talk.” Adora coaxes her.

Glimmer rolls her eyes heavenward at their display. She levels an unimpressed scowl at them, but they are too absorbed to notice her clenched fist and tight jaw.

Bow, sensing her imminent eruption, tries to placate her. “It’s okay, we still have time, right?”

Glimmer turns around, directing all her fury at him. “Three. Weeks.”

Bow’s stare is blank. He tries to decipher the intended meaning from the tone of her voice. “So... not enough time?”

“Look at how little we’ve done today!” Glimmer turns back to jab at her laptop screen, making it wobble slightly. “This was the only thing you wrote!”

Bow cranes his neck to see his work, “wanna see the sun,, n flowers!!! sunflowers?” He scratches his cheek sheepishly. “I was distracted, okay!” He looks around desperately for someone to help him, but Scorpia, Catra, and Adora have already packed up and are about to leave the library.

Glimmer throws her hands into the air in frustration. “Nobody leaves until we finish this section!”

Just then, the library assistant passes their table with a trolley full of books. In an indifferent tone that suggests that she does not care either way, she says, “Hey. You guys gotta leave like... now.”

Glimmer’s angry screech echoes throughout the entire university campus.

* * *

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**✨GLIMMER✨:** MEETING TOMORROW. 8 AM. SAME TABLE.

* * *

Adora sighs when she reads Glimmer’s message.

“What is it?” Catra asks, but she is too impatient to wait for Adora’s reply, so she takes hold of her hand to angle the phone toward her. The glare of the phone screen, a sharp contrast to the darkness surrounding them, makes her squint a little. Then her eyes bug out. “What! Is Sparkles serious?! 8 am?!”

“Yeah, she’s really… enthusiastic.”

Catra groans. Then she realizes that she is still touching Adora’s hand, which feels icy cold under her hand. Now that Catra is looking out for it, she sees light goosebumps over Adora’s bare arms. “Oh right, your jacket! It’s in my room, I can pass it to you later. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Adora says, but she is shivering slightly because of the chilly wind.

“You sure?” Catra splays her fingers to cover her hand with hers. “Then why do your fingers feel so cold?”

“So that…” Adora waits for Catra to look at her before saying with a straight face, “you can hold it.”

Catra groans at the cheesy pick-up line, but she obliges, intertwining their fingers after Adora keeps her phone. It feels familiar now, a far cry from the first time she tried to hold her hand in the lecture hall. Strangely enough, both times have been with darkness as a comforting backdrop. “Have you been researching on pick-up lines?”

“Hm…” Adora swings their linked hands with a goofy smile on her face. “No comment.”

“Wow. You totally have.”

It makes her insides feel a bit funny. Probably a mix of jealousy and smugness. That Adora had done so much research in order to impress the girl of her dreams. Even so, she is still here with her.

 _Practice dating isn’t bad at all,_ she thinks. _So what if it’s just all a lie? It feels real to me._

Yet… she still tightens her grip on her hand.

* * *

After a while, they pass by a food court that is still open at this hour. Adora’s eyes widen when she sees a girl dressed in a turquoise tracksuit waiting at the entrance with her phone in hand. She calls out excitedly, “Sea-Ra! Sea-Ra!”

Catra thinks, _Sea-Ra? What kind of name is that?_

Then she realizes that her stoic face looks strangely familiar. _Oh. The library assistant from just now._

“Sea-Ra” turns to look at Adora. Her eyes flick to Catra for just a moment. With a bored expression, she says, rather monotonously, “Hey, She-Ra. And you are…?”

“Mermista, this is Catra. Catra, this is Mermista.”

“Hey, Catra.”

“Hey.”

Then Adora and Mermista begin talking about something that is full of technical jargon and weird lingo and it all sounds so complex that Catra is totally lost. Tank? DPS? But it makes Adora break out into boisterous laughter and the corner of Mermista’s lip curve up slightly.

Catra’s heart drops. They seem so comfortable with each other. And then they both lean close to each other to get a better view of Mermista’s phone, which looks like a game of some sort.

_Is she—_

_The girl Adora likes?_

She bites on her inner cheek to stifle the ugly wave of jealousy that rushes through her body. She looks to the side, scuffing her shoes on the pavement, and waits for the torture to be over. She cannot help but dart looks at Mermista because she is interrupting their time together. But her glare must have been too piercing, because Mermista looks up at her. She levels an unimpressed stare at her. Or maybe that is her usual expression. Regardless, it makes Catra’s hackles stand on end, so she stares back at her with an openly hostile expression.

The two of them end up in a face-off, and the surrounding temperature drops sharply.

Adora finally looks up from Mermista's phone. When she realizes what is happening, she tries to resolve the mounting tension by including Catra in the conversation. “We’re just talking about SPOP! Have you heard of it?”

“SPOP?”

“An MMORPG, it just released on mobile this year.”

“MMO…?”

Catra does not play mobile games. Obviously.

“We met each other online, then we realized that we take Intro to Econ together.”

“Yeah. You’re the She-Ra to my Sea-Ra.”

“Hahaha, that never gets old.”

Then the two of them chuckle at their inside joke, leaving Catra to stare at her shoes sullenly.

All too soon, the illusion is shattered.

_It’s not enough._

_Being friends is not enough for me._

Her insecurities, dark and insidious, come bubbling up to the surface, transforming into a mass of jealousy. It makes her chest clench heavily as if being squeezed in a vice grip. She takes a deep breath, trying to will the ugly feelings to disappear, but—

_What does Mermista have that I don’t?_

_Maybe the problem is with me?_

_Maybe I’m just not good enough._

Just as Catra thinks she is about to explode with jealousy, a booming male voice comes floating by. "Mer~ mis~ ta~ MY LOVE!"

Mermista rolls her eyes. "Oh my god. Why are you here."

The guy with a mustache grins widely at her. "You were the one who invited me for supper, my dear." Then he inclines his head toward the food court. "And so I came running to you!"

"I told you that I was hungry after my shift, that’s all!" Mermista groans, but the corner of her lips quirks up a little. "See you another day, Adora. You too… Catra."

Catra gapes at them.

_Oh._

_That's why Adora got rejected by her._

“Bye, Mermista!” Then Adora turns to Catra with an apologetic look on her face. “Hey. Sorry. I guess it was kinda awkward for you, huh?”

“It’s fine.” _It’s not._ “You and Mermista, huh?”

“Yeah, we’re in the same guild. You should join us someday!”

Catra’s ears perk up slightly. “You don’t mind?”

“Of course not! It’ll be so fun if you join us.” Then Adora actually stops in her steps. “Oh my god, actually, you’ll fit right in!”

“What? Why?”

“We’re in the RA guild. You know, She-Ra, Sea-Ra, and now…” Adora looks excitedly at her. “Cat-Ra!”

Catra rolls her eyes good-naturedly at Adora’s contagious enthusiasm. The tension from before fades away. She feels way more at ease now, the jealousy merely a faint spark that can be easily ignored. She smiles at her. “Fine, fine. Teach me how to play someday.”

“Of course!” Adora smiles back at her, eyes softening. “We’ve been getting our asses kicked by the GLIMBOW guild…” Then her eyes widen in sudden realization. “Wait… do you think Bow could have hacked the game, that’s why their guild is always in the top three…”

Catra huffs out a laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did.” She takes a moment to think about her hasty initiation into the RA guild. “What’s your guild’s ranking, anyway?”

Adora averts her gaze and whistles. “Uh. Okay. So. Ranking doesn’t matter?”

“Adora. Only losers say that.”

And Catra only plays if she knows she will win. But there are some things in life that are still worth playing for, regardless of the risks involved, right?

“Come on, Catra! We can do more things together if we’re in the same guild.” Adora looks at her beseechingly with puppy dog eyes.

Catra is so weak. “Fine, I’ll join your guild or whatever.” At Adora’s smirk, she just has to add, “Don’t get any weird ideas.”

But there is no rational explanation as to why she would join RA instead of GLIMBOW. Nobody in their right mind would join the losing side. Especially someone as competitive as Catra.

Adora seems to understand this. “Haha, sure.” She skips ahead, and in a sing-song voice, she says, “Catra totally likes me!”

Catra chases after her. “No!”

* * *

All too soon, they reach Catra’s dormitory, both of them a sweaty mess. Cheeks flushed pink with exertion, Adora says, “What a workout, huh.”

“Yeah. I beat you, though.” Catra pushes the flyaway strands away from her face. Adora’s eyes follow the movement.

“I wasn’t aware we were competing.”

“Says the loserrr.” Catra sticks out her tongue at her. “Oh, right. Wait here, I’ll get your jacket.”

“Ah. Okay.”

Catra heads into her room to grab Adora’s jacket which is draped over her chair. She presses her face into the fabric for the last time, but any scent of Adora has long since faded. She heads out to pass it back to Adora. “Here.”

“Thanks!” Adora puts it on, and she looks like her usual prim and proper self again. “Uh. Thanks for today. I had a good time,” she says stiffly as if reciting from a script. Her eyes dart to Catra’s face and then away as she nibbles on her lip, appearing to be having a deep internal conflict.

"Same. Me too." _What’s she so stressed about?_

Suddenly, Adora envelops her in a hug. Her arms come up instinctively to wrap around her. Then she rests her head on the crook of her neck and inhales deeply. Adora smells good. Like home. And happy things.

Adora presses a kiss to her hair. She murmurs, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Catra hugs her tighter.

“So, uh…” Still in each other’s arms, Adora hums absent-mindedly, as if choosing her next words carefully. “No hurry, but maybe we can talk about… you know. Some time.”

 _No._ Catra jerks away as if stung, but Adora catches hold of her elbows before she manages to pull away fully. But Catra does not do well in these types of situations. Namely, when people want to _talk_ about serious things _._ It never bodes well for her. The last time someone wanted to _talk,_ she ended up being kicked out of her house with a half-packed bag. She averts her gaze. “About what?”

She knows full well what Adora wants to talk about, but she does not want to have the talk.

“I was thinking we should talk about… you know, us. I understand if you don’t want anything serious, and I don’t want to pressure you either.” Adora squeezes her arms lightly when she tries to pull away, as if it is important for her to listen. She wants to tell Adora to let go of her, but between feeling trapped and the never-ending catastrophizing going on in her brain, nothing comes out of her mouth.

_C’mon, it’s just one conversation._

_Why can’t I handle just one simple conversation?_

But in reality, it is more than just “one simple conversation.” The conversation that she knows Adora wants to have is difficult for her in more ways than one. She wants to tell Adora about things that she should probably know before she jumps headfirst into things like she usually does.

She wants to protect Adora from herself.

Adora closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as if she still has _more to say,_ but Catra’s brain has already staticked out. She feels like any _more_ will cause her to displace her tumultuous emotions outward, at Adora. She does not want to lash out at Adora. She is trying her best to bite down on words that are threatening to slip out, words that are meant to hurt her terribly, words that will push her away forever, words that are totally contrary to the things she wants to say.

With a sharp tug of her hands, Catra slips away into the safety of her dorm room.

Only then does she let out a long breath.

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Adora]**

**catra😈:** did u get home safely?

 **Adora🌻:** Yup

 **catra😈:** oh ok  
**catra😈:** …  
**catra😈:** hey

 **Adora🌻:** Yeah?

 **catra😈:** i’m sry for slamming the door in ur face just now  
**catra😈:** i kinda felt. a little  
**catra😈:** idk…... trapped? put on the spot? idrk  
**catra😈:** and it made my anxiety. kinda . bad. or wtv

 **Adora🌻:** Oh. I’m sorry too, I didn’t know!!  
**Adora🌻:** You have nothing to be sorry for, Catra

 **catra😈:** it wasn’t cool of me . i’m working on it  
**catra😈:** but i kinda just… default to removing myself from situations  
**catra😈:** when it gets too much to handle. like just now

 **Adora🌻:** Hey, that’s good. I'm proud of you :)  
**Adora🌻:** I didn’t mean to place you in such a situation!!

 **catra😈:** nah, i understand where you’re coming from  
**catra😈:** i get it. we nd to talk. but first i just want to tell you that  
**catra😈:** my anxiety can b kinda . debilitating.  
**catra😈:** and my thoughts can get away from me  
**catra😈:** yea. that’s all. full disclosure and everything  
**catra😈:** lmk if i'm like oversharing or wtv i can shut up and not bother u

 **Adora🌻:** Thanks for sharing with me!!  
**Adora🌻:** ALSO! I like listening to you. Always.  
**Adora🌻:** I think you're fun and considerate and you're always so sweet to everyone :)

 **catra😈:** LMAO. are we talking abt the same person

 **Adora🌻:** Yes!!! You always look out for us in your own way!  
**Adora🌻:** Like that time you gave your Snickers bar to Glimmer bc SW called her Glitter in lecture

 **catra😈:** i was just welcoming her to the “sw hates us” club

 **Adora🌻:** Or that time you helped Bow with uploading his data lol

 **catra😈:** that was bc it was convenient for me……  
**catra😈:** and. if left to him, it would take him AGES

 **Adora🌻:** Don’t discredit yourself, you have a really big heart! <3  
**Adora🌻:** You’re amazing and reliable and you’re always trying to be a better version of yourself!

 **catra😈:** u can't say nice shit like that

 **Adora🌻:** Why not??

 **catra😈:** BECAUSE.

 **Adora🌻:** Haha, so mature

 **catra😈:** -__-  
**catra😈:** same.

 **Adora🌻:** ??

 **catra😈:** ughhh  
**catra😈:** i think u are amazing or wtv  
**catra😈:** and i also like listening to u  
**catra😈:** so u can tell me anything too 

**Adora🌻:** Awww <3  
**Adora🌻:** Yeah, sure!

 **catra😈:** <3  
**catra😈:** thx

 **Adora🌻:** Np. Thanks too

 **catra😈:** are  
**catra😈:** we cool  
**catra😈:** ?

 **Adora🌻:** Yeah, we’re cool :)

 **catra😈:** ok  
**catra😈:** cool  
**catra😈:** :)

 **Adora🌻:** Cool :)

 **catra😈:** cool.

 **Adora🌻:** Very cool

 **catra😈:** go to bed

 **Adora🌻:** You go first

 **catra😈:** lmao k byeee  
**catra😈:** gdnite

 **Adora🌻:** Goodnight :)

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Perfuma & Catra]**

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** heard abt the gd news~~

 **catra😈:** ???

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** catra & adora ~~  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** sitting in a tree ~~  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** k  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** s

 **catra😈:** STOP

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** s  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** n  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** g  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** sooo who confessed first??

 **catra😈:** no one  
**catra😈:** adora asked if i wanted to practice  
**catra😈:** so i said ok

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wtf? tell me u r joking.

 **catra😈:** ?  
**catra😈:** nope

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wtf ???  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** why did u do that ???

 **catra😈:** what

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i thought u liked her?? n i was under the impression that she liked u too??  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** IS SHE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF U ???? jst lmk n ill get my rifle ready .

 **catra😈:** hey no she’s helping me out

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** im so confused ,, "help out"?  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** explain.

 **catra😈:** ugh  
**catra😈:** it’s fucking embarrassing

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** hey, dont worry, its me  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** ykno i wont say anyth !!

 **catra😈:** ughh fine. basically. when we were otw back to campus on wed  
**catra😈:** i said i didn’t have any exp w dating  
**catra😈:** then she asked,, why don’t i just try it out. as if it’s that easy  
**catra😈:** so she showed me how to confess n all  
**catra😈:** then she suggested practicing so we won’t be noobs at it or wtv

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** what…?

 **catra😈:** bc i’m “her only single friend”  
**catra😈:** then i was kinda . yknow. sad or wtv. and i cried on her shoulder afterward UGH

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** hhh ive so many qns,,,  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** 1\. what do u mean by “showed u how to confess” ?  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** 2\. u r definitely not “her only single friend”…? there's entrapta.. n mermista, kinda

 **catra😈:** FUCK mermista i'm going to kick her sea-ra ass

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** 3\. u ok now bud??

 **catra😈:** 1\. she said “do u want to go out w me?” something like that, i don’t rmb  
**catra😈:** so i said “so smooth bro” n then i may have punched her. then she said she wanted to help me out bc she couldn’t stand watching her friend punch ppl or something when they confess

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** UMMMM  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** so yall r practicing what. gg out on dates??

 **catra😈:** idk we didn’t talk abt it  
**catra😈:** i think she wanted to talk abt it just now but i  
**catra😈:** messed it up. like i always do

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** hey no, u r ok dear ! !  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** rmb what we said abt negative self-talk !  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** its just that…… communication is impt ~

 **catra😈:** wtv, it’s rly fine with me  
**catra😈:** it’s better than nothing yknow  
**catra😈:** she said that she got rejected recently sooo… idk. maybe i have a chance

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** UMMMMMMMM… hold up.  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** >she showed u “how to confess” by CONFESSING TO U  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** >u rejected her. n even punched her. which def sounds like u r overcompensating for smth

 **catra😈:** i told u she wasn’t confessing to me

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** >then she said that she “got rejected”  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** u want to kno what i think

 **catra😈:** no

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wtv, im gna say it regardless.., bc u nd to hear this  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i think… deep down,, u kno that she was confessing to u. but u refuse to let urself believe that she could actl like u. bc u dont think u deserve love. or to b happy  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** n,, if sb doesnt kick ur butt, u will prob jst find some excuse to cont w this “practicing” thing bc u r scared of ruining wtv u have rn. which also explains why u r engaging in anxious-avoidant behaviors, FOR EXAMPLE, running away from impt conversations (!!)  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** its not fair for either of u, u kno. neither of u will b happy.  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** is my cactus still alive btw ??

 **catra😈:** u can’t just destroy me emotionally then change topics like that dude  
**catra😈:** i wanted to have the convo abt our r/s just now. but i also wanted her to know abt my anxiety first  
**catra😈:** bc if she thinks it’s too messy to deal with or wtv then we can leave it as something that isn’t serious  
**catra😈:** BUT i just wasn’t ready to tell her abt it yet ?? i was scared that things would change  
**catra😈:** gdi i hate it when u are rite

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** mayb over txt ?? when u feel btr + if the time is rite

 **catra😈:** yea i texted her just now  
**catra😈:** honestly i think she alr knew but she wanted to wait till i was ready to tell her  
**catra😈:** she said that we’re cool :)

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** thats gd !!!! <3  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** one hurdle cleared, one more to go ~  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** also dont pretend u didnt see my qn abt ur cactus

 **catra😈:** oh. yea he’s still alive  
**catra😈:** u should be honored, i named him after u. kinda

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** aww <33

 **catra😈:** he’s called poopiefuma

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wtf ???!!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** wow… v mature of u  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** but,, i knew u cld do it! u r a gd person n such a softie ! !

 **catra😈:** dude. im a hard ass.  
**catra😈:** wait no

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** asses arent hard tho  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** theyre soft

 **catra😈:** ah fuckkk

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** soft,, like u,,,  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** but anw !  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** rmb the plant-pet-person analogy i told u b4?

 **catra😈:** yea

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** first……poopiefuma,, second is applesauce. third is adora !!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** if u can keep a plant alive.,, then try a pet,, then u r ready for datingg  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** set ur boundaries n go slow~~

 **catra😈:** u rly think  
**catra😈:** …  
**catra😈:** that she can like  
**catra😈:** someone like me?

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** yes.

 **catra😈:** …  
**catra😈:** ok

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** u can do it !!  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** i love u !!! <3 <3 <3

 **catra😈:** -__-  
**catra😈:** thx. ily2 or wtv  
**catra😈:** <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's sea hawk's birthday today, what a coincidence!! hpbd, sea hawk!! 🎉
> 
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09), I share snippets of my work as I write :)
> 
> kudos & comments are appreciated <3!!


	14. Chapter 14

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Bow & Catra]**

**bow🏹:** hey ive asked my dads abt ur paper. they said to email the econ dept head and ask for a regrade bc u think u have been graded unfairly. apparently they can arrange for someone to grade it blindly !

 **catra😈:** oh ok i'll do it now  
**catra😈:** thx man

 **bow🏹:** np!  
**bow🏹:** if u want to wipe ur mind of my passwords,,,,, well i won't b complaining

 **catra😈:** fine  
**catra😈:** u could've just changed ur passwords??

 **bow🏹:** nahhh i'm happy w them,, i wanna b thinking abt glimmer at every possible moment

 **catra😈:** lol ill be thinking of glimmer tmr too

 **bow🏹:** aww u too ?? <3

 **catra😈:** yea i’ll be cursing her name when my alarm goes off  
**catra😈:** who tf arranges for a meeting at 8 fucking am

 **bow🏹:** o ya. fuck. i forgot abt that

 **catra😈:** lmaoo gdnite  
**catra😈:** thx again

 **bow🏹:** np,, nites !

* * *

The Next Day

**[GROUP CHAT: Intro to Econ]**

**✨GLIMMER✨:** Hey guys, I’ve booked Project Room #03 for today  
**✨GLIMMER✨:** See you at 8 am!

* * *

Once they settle down, Glimmer slams both hands onto the table loudly. Everyone jolts to a start, except for Bow, who is still dozing off in his seat. He opens his eyes blearily when Glimmer booms, “Dear ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered in the War Room today because we are so very fucked.”

Catra almost lets out a cackle because, really, War Room? But everyone else is watching Glimmer with rapt attention, so she plays along.

“We have less than three weeks to write 5000 words. But what do we have right now?" Glimmer looks at their report, then shoots a glare at Bow. "Shitty poetry about suns and flowers.”

Bow cowers under her fierce glare.

“There’s a huge chunk of words here…” Glimmer scans the report with a puzzled frown. “I, [blank], resident in the City of [blank], County of [blank], State of [blank], being of sound mind… What’s this? Oh. It’s someone’s last will and testament…?”

“Oh, shit.” All the blood drains from Scorpia’s face. “I didn’t know that I’d uploaded it to our shared folder! No wonder I couldn’t find it.”

Bow looks concerned. “Is everything okay, Scorpia? You can always tell us if you need any help. I have… connections.”

Even more blood drains from Scorpia’s face. She squeaks, and shifts uncomfortably in her chair. In a tiny voice, she says, “Yeah… Everything’s fine. Please don’t do anything to me.”

Catra lets out a peal of laughter, unable to help herself any longer. “Why are you so scared of Bow? And why are there so many blanks in your will? Aren’t you supposed to write y—”

“Speaking of writing…” Glimmer’s powerful scowl renders Catra wordless. Glimmer can be very _fierce._ “I haven’t seen anything from you”—Adora starts to say something in Catra’s defense, but Glimmer snaps her head to her as well—“and you.”

Everyone looking sufficiently cowed, Glimmer gives an approving nod, and then she unveils their battle plan. They listen intently to Glimmer with unparalleled focus. “Three main tasks for today: Analyze raw data. Report findings. Interpret results. By the end of the day, we will come up with a conclusion to our question, “Are economics majors more selfish than other majors?” and support it with empirical evidence.

“If you look in front of you, you’ll find an hourly breakdown of your schedule for the day. Does anyone have any questions?”

After a long moment of silence, Scorpia raises her hand tentatively after looking around desperately in hopes that someone else will raise an objection. “Miss Glimmer, I have a few concerns about the scheduling.”

“Yes, Miss Scorpia?”

“I noticed that we don’t have any lunch or dinner breaks…?”

“Yeah, 8 am to 11 pm is what, 15 hours of work?” Catra pipes up. “This is child labor, dude. It's illegal.”

Glimmer rolls her eyes. “You’re not a child, Catra.”

“I’m a child when it’s convenient for me.”

“Adora and I have prepared ready-made meals for you guys. You can eat and work at the same time, right?” Glimmer’s smile is all teeth.

Catra is about to throw hands, but Adora places a hand on her shoulder, and that is enough for all the fight to seep out of her. Adora settles the dispute diplomatically with an iron fist. “Okay, maybe we can work out a compromise? Let’s say… 1 hour of break.”

Catra finally finds her tongue. “Uh, also…” Her tongue is not the most eloquent one but it will do. She knows about Adora’s relationship with food. Namely, that taste is secondary. “Food that’s NOT oatmeal. I’m a growing girl, I need proper sustenance.”

Adora and Glimmer exchange shifty looks, and then they glance at a large bag that probably contains packets of unsweetened instant oatmeal. “Fine. No oatmeal. We’ll call for delivery.”

“Nice! And I get to choose the place.”

Adora sighs but she shoots a fond smile at Catra. “Okay, okay.” Her hand is still on her shoulder for some reason.

Under his breath, Bow coughs out, “Whipped.”

Catra watches the flush on Adora’s cheek bloom pink, and she bites her lip to stifle the smile growing on her face.

Glimmer clears her throat loudly. When Adora and Catra continue making eyes at each other, she clears her throat again, then she rolls her eyes and just gives up.

“Okay! Morning debrief is over. We’ll reconvene at 1 pm for our lunch break.”

* * *

Catra is going to die.

Seriously.

Her fingers are cramping up from the non-stop typing. Her brain is killing her from reading all these research papers. Who the fuck cares about things like selfish rationality and free riders when her soul is about to leave her body?

But the worst thing is that Bow is the most distracting groupmate she has ever met. He keeps getting up for a break every few minutes, which is totally fine by her, but he has to squeeze past her chair every single time, and it is really getting on her nerves.

Fuck it. She pulls up the university library website to book another room. “Hey, I’m going to the project room next door. I can’t concentrate in here.”

Scorpia seems entirely absorbed in her work. Without raising her head, she says, “Oh, okay, see you later.” After a moment, her head snaps up with sudden realization. With a desperate look in her eyes, she says, “Wait! I’ll join you!”

Catra still has no idea why Scorpia is so afraid of Bow and Glimmer. “Yeah, sure.”

Adora leaps up as well when she realizes that Catra will be alone with Scorpia. “I’m coming along too!”

* * *

Catra finally has enough space for her things. She spreads her notes and laptop over half of the table, leaving the other half for Adora and Scorpia. But they like Catra too much to complain about it. They merely take the other side of the table and size each other up from the corner of their eyes.

All too soon, Scorpia leaves for the restroom.

Catra picks at the edges of a fading “FUCK YOU” sticker on her laptop as she tries not to think of what happened the last time they were in a room together. She fails. She takes a peek at Adora over her laptop, only to see Adora staring back at her. “What?”

Adora startles, apparently lost in a daydream. “What?”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“I’m not looking at you. Y-you’re the one who’s looking at me!”

“Me?” Catra huffs out. “How do you know that I’m looking at you if you’re not looking at me?”

“How do I—” Adora gives up and shakes her head. “Fine. I’m looking at you.” She gives a little smile that should be illegal because no one can be that pretty. She cocks an eyebrow, and it seems to be saying, _so what?_

That makes Catra stop short. “Uh.” She twists her lips, because _how did it even come to this?_ She ends up saying, rather lamely, “Well. Just don’t do it.”

Adora pushes her laptop away to get a better line of sight, and then she rests her chin in her hand to look at her. “Why not?”

“Because!” Catra ducks her head to hide behind her laptop screen. “Do your work.” Glimmer would be so proud of her.

“I’m kind of bored, though.” Adora lets out a long and exaggerated sigh. “I need some motivation…”

“… What kind of motivation?”

“I read that hugging someone for 20 seconds a day will release oxytocin, which is associated with happiness and less stress.”

 _Is she suggesting—_ “Uh. Okay…?”

Adora waits for Catra to say something else, but she is still staying silent behind her laptop. Hiding. “But for that to happen, I kind of need, you know, someone to hug?”

_Me, please._

Instead of saying that, Catra finds herself saying, “There’s Sparkles. Bow. Scorp. I’m sure they don’t mind hugging you. Scorp’s a great hugger.” _Self-proclaimed, but still._

Adora’s eyes narrow. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

Catra wants to bang her head on the table at that small act of self-sabotage—she does not even understand why she did it, especially when Adora had basically gifted it to her on a platter—but she will wait for Adora to leave the room first. Preserve what is left of her dignity or whatever. But Adora gives her one more chance. She takes the long way out of the room, which requires her to pass by Catra’s seat.

Catra’s body moves faster than her brain. She quickly reaches out. Her fingers grasp Adora’s jacket. “Wait.”

Adora stops in her tracks.

Catra takes a deep breath. She looks up to meet kind, patient eyes. “There’s also me.”

Adora smiles and reaches out with open arms, and Catra wraps her arms around her.

_You make me brave._

* * *

On the other side of the glass door, Scorpia shoots off a few quick messages to Perfuma:

 **Scorpiaaa:** Are you sure they aren’t together yet?

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** nope,, not yet. they havent kissed, so…

 **Scorpiaaa:** Oh okay  
**Scorpiaaa:** How do you know that…?

 **perfumaaa🌼🌵:** haha dont worry abt it, i have my sources !  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** u shld prob wait a while b4 entering the rm btw, theyre still talking :)

Scorpia stares at her phone for a long moment. Then she takes a furtive glance behind her, and scans her surroundings slowly. But it is just a simple corridor, and there is no sign of Perfuma. Scorpia breathes out a sigh of relief. Then she stops breathing out the sigh of relief. Should she be relieved or not, that Perfuma is not within visible range…?

* * *

Catra pulls her chair over to Adora’s side when lunchtime draws near. She leans close, and their shoulders brush lightly.

Adora sighs when Catra extends her hand for her phone. Right before Catra swipes it from her hand, she says, “Nothing too expensive.”

Catra receives it with a smug smile. “It’s okay, they’ll pay for their own food.”

“They?”

“Yeah.” Catra scrolls through the food delivery options. “Scorp, Bow, Sparkles.”

Adora’s brows raise. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Who’s paying for yours?”

Catra darts a quick glance at Adora. “Someone’s going to pay for me.”

Adora somehow thinks that Catra is looking past her. She turns around to see what Catra is looking at, only to see Scorpia spin her chair 450 degrees to face away from them. Their eyes meet for a split second, and Scorpia’s blank expression seems to say, _I don’t want any part of this._

Adora looks back at Catra, realization dawning in her eyes. She points to herself in disbelief. “Me?”

“Yeah, you. But”—Catra barrels on when Adora opens her mouth to argue—“You can choose the place.” She is very magnanimous, after all.

Adora knows a lousy deal when she sees one. But. “Fine.” She takes her phone back. Catra leans close to judge her taste in food. But after a while of Catra making displeased noises at every single one of her food choices, Adora finally gives up. She asks, with a lot of patience, “What do you want to eat?”

“Not the salad stuff, obviously!”

“They’re nutritious! They have protein, fiber…”

“I want pizza!”

“Nooo.” Adora sighs. “Something with more protein! How else am I supposed to build these”—she curls her arms to show off her muscles, but they are sadly hidden under her jacket sleeves—“big guns?”

Catra may be drooling a little bit. Her tongue darts out unconsciously to lick her lips when she imagines the toned muscles flexing under her long sleeves. Ever since Adora had come over to her dormitory in a tank top, she has not been able to get the sight of her buff arms out of her dreams.

Adora clears her throat, and Catra’s head snaps up to meet a raised eyebrow.

A little too late, she tries to scoff, “Big guns?!” It sounds more like a whimper. “They’re not that big.” But she wipes at her mouth, just in case. “Maybe you can take off your… you know?”

Adora smirks, and is about to take off her jacket—Catra can see that very clearly. Unfortunately, Scorpia’s stomach rumbles loudly at this very crucial moment, which makes the wicked spark in Adora’s eyes fade away.

_Damn it, Scorp's stomach!_

“I’m sorry, guys!” Scorpia says contritely, pressing her hand to her stomach to silence it. “Take as long as you need! Remove as many layers of clothing as you want, haha!”

Catra is going to die of mortification. “Concentrate, Adora!”

“Me?! I thought you wanted to choose?”

“Oh, haha. Right. Give me that.”

They end up ordering two pizzas. One with additional meat toppings, because Catra may have a vested interest in maintaining Adora’s _big guns._

* * *

When it is finally time for the last debrief of the day, Glimmer gathers everyone around the War Table. “Report your findings, now!”

When nobody starts talking, Adora clears her throat and starts, “I was researching on the prisoner’s dilemma. According to the rational actor model, a player who acts solely in their self-interest will always choose to betray the other.

 **Prisoner's Dilemma**  


|  ****

**A stays silent**

|  ****

**A betrays B**  
  
---|---|---  
****

**B stays silent**

| 

Both serve 1 year

| 

A goes free,  
B serves 3 years  
  
****

**B betrays A**

| 

B goes free,  
A serves 3 years

| 

Both serve 2 years  
  
“As shown in the diagram, the best overall outcome is if A and B trust each other to stay silent, which will result in both of them having to serve 1 year. However, there is an incentive for both of them to act selfishly by betraying the other so that they can go free.”

“Good! Next!”

Bow says, “I’ve analyzed our experimental data. Econ majors chose to betray 60% of the time, while other majors chose to betray 39% of the time. Why do econ majors tend to be more selfish?" He yawns. "It's somewhere in the report. Catra and Scorpia did that part."

Glimmer beams at them. “Good job, guys! War council dismissed!”

* * *

As they pack their bags, Catra tries to psych herself up for the _talk_ with Adora. Before she loses her nerve, she forces the words out. “Hey, Adora? Want me to walk you back today?” Okay, so it is not quite the words she wanted to say, but they are better than nothing.

“Haha, okay. So chivalrous.”

“Of course. I always am.”

“So modest, too.”

The same words as those in Thaymor café, and then both of them become silent, lost in reminiscence. On the way back to her dormitory, Adora sneaks little peeks at Catra, obviously waiting for her to broach the subject, but not wanting to push her too much. But Catra, if given the choice, would never bring it up willingly.

_Bzzt!_

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** take a right turn 38.5 steps ahead theres a cute lil garden there where u guys can talk !

Catra narrows her eyes. She intentionally slows her walking pace. Adora looks at her quizzically, but she follows her new pace.

_Ha, did Perfuma take this into account?_

But exactly 38.5 steps ahead, the road splits into a right turn. It leads to the university’s botanical garden.

_What the fuck, Perfuma!!!_

She knows Catra too well, even factoring her obstinate personality into her calculations.

Anyway. Since they are already here…

She tugs on Adora’s sleeve and inclines her head toward the garden. “Uh. Talk?”

“Oh! Okay.”

“Okay.”

_…_

_Now what?_

_Why is this so difficult?_

They make two rounds around the garden in absolute silence. Catra looks at the night sky, then at the gravel path, then at the flowers, basically everywhere but the glaring presence next to her. She kicks up the gravel on the path, watching them skip once, and again. A pebble lands on Adora’s shoe, but she does not seem to notice it.

_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_

**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** my dude,, if u dont start talking soon  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** im gg to freeze to death ! ! ! it wont b pretty, trust me. ive seen it b4  
**perfumaaa🌼🌵:** mayb u can start from the beginning ?

_From the beginning, huh._

Catra tucks her phone back into her pocket.

_Okay, I’m doing it._

She tries to make her words come out strong and steady. She takes a deep inhale, and then she just goes for it. “WHEN I FIRST SAW YOU.”

_Fuck, that’s way too strong and too steady._

Adora looks a little startled because of her lack of volume control, but she angles her body toward her slightly.

Mortified, Catra tries again at a more reasonable volume. “Ever since I saw you in econ lecture…”

_I wanted to spend time with you. Talk to you. Make you laugh._

_I wanted it to be me by your side, instead of Bow and Glimmer._

_Uh… no. That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?_

Her hands are slightly clammy. Her throat feels like it is getting clogged up. It makes it a little difficult to breathe. She takes a long, deep breath before saying in a rush, “I kind of had a crush on you.”

_That sounds better…?_

_Oh my god, I hope she doesn’t think that it’s weird of me._

Flustered, she tries to explain, “Not in a weird way! I’m not—”

“Hey. Don’t worry.” Adora places a hand on her shoulder, the warm weight comforting and grounding. “I had a crush on you way before econ lectures started.”

“… a stalker…” Then Catra stops babbling. She looks up at Adora with wide eyes. “Huh?”

“Yeah, I saw you during orientation. I liked your crop top—I think I’ve mentioned it to you before?” 

Catra had put in zero effort into dressing for orientation because she did not see the point in all those activities, but she had always known that her _MOVE, I’M GAY_ crop top was her favorite for a reason. 

Adora smiles at her as if recollecting the good old days. “And you had such an attitude, haha. It took me a day to muster up the courage to ask for your number, but you didn’t turn up after that.”

Catra manages a weak, “Oh.”

_Fuck, why didn't I attend the next few days?_

“Is that weird?” Adora asks hesitantly.

“No! It’s not weird. I’m just surprised.”

“Haha, okay. That’s great.”

Catra lets out a relieved breath.

_Okay. We managed to talk a little. And it wasn’t even that bad. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all._

_I can do this. One step at a time._

“Then we started hanging out with each other.” _I got to know you. You weren’t just someone I looked at from afar. You were here. You were real._ “I thought you liked me, but I didn't know if it was wishful thinking on my part. So I started testing the waters, and then everything became so much more, and I…” _chickened out._

Catra blows out a rough breath. “I started getting cold feet, I didn’t know—or believe—how somebody like you could ever like me. So, uh, that day, when you confessed…”

Adora looks stunned by her admission. “Oh. You knew?”

“Not at first! I really thought you liked someone else!” _Or did I just make myself believe that so I’d have no choice but to give up on you? Self-deception at its finest, really. Except that it didn’t even work, did it?_ “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I thought you wanted to keep things casual.” Adora swallows. “But I wanted more, so I suggested practicing, but then…” Her hand clenches into a fist as if recollecting Catra’s heaving sobs and shaking frame, and then she releases it. “I’d never seen you cry before that day. You always seemed so...”

“I thought you only wanted me because I was convenient! Or something!” Catra’s voice quavers slightly. It still hurts to think about being Adora’s last choice. She breathes in, breathes out, and hopes her voice comes out steady. “You said that I’m your only single friend.”

Adora grasps Catra’s hand in a hurry. “I didn’t mean that! It was just a stupid lie I made up because I thought you—I—needed an excuse.” With a serious set to her face, she says, “I like you, Catra. You’re my first choice. And my only choice.”

Catra’s breath catches.

She hoped that Adora would reciprocate her feelings.

She feels scared, and…

As Adora put it, Catra tends to “run away” from things that scare her. But Adora has been nothing but patient with her, never pushing too much, and Catra wants to let her know that she is done with running away. Even if it may be scary to admit that she wants things, how else will she get them—if she does not acknowledge them, fight for them?

She feels scared, but…

So what? She will do it anyway.

“I like you, too.”

As the words leave her mouth, her harsh inner critic rears its ugly head. _Who do you think you are? Do you actually think Adora likes someone like you? She deserves someone better—someone who isn’t so flawed. Why not take the easy way out and save yourself the eventual heartbreak? Just run away, like you always do._

But as she watches Adora’s face bloom into obvious joy, her warm eyes radiating trust and love and affection, she is reminded that there is good in her too. She looks out for her friends, and they look out for her. She is loved. She is not a burden. She may not be perfect—who is?—but she always tries. And she is not going to give up now.

She wants this.

“You’re my first choice. And my only choice.”

Adora’s smile is so bright that it hurts to look at her for too long. Catra feels an answering smile growing on her face as well, and her cheeks are starting to hurt from how widely she is smiling, but she feels like she is on top of the world. It feels good to make decisions out of hope and not fear.

Adora leans down slightly to look Catra in the eye. Her voice is almost a hushed whisper. She sounds awed. “I can’t believe you like me.”

“I can’t believe _you_ like me.”

“Well, I do. Like you.”

“I l— I mean, uh, same.”

Adora lets out a little snort. “What was that?”

“I li—” Catra tightens her grip on her hand, her face flushing hotly. Just because she feels freer than ever does not make her want to—or able to—loudly proclaim her affections for Adora every few seconds. “I’m not going to say it again!”

“Why not?” Adora laughs at her red face. “It’s easy. I like you.” She looks like she is having too much fun teasing Catra, or maybe it is an excuse for her to keep saying “I like you”s to Catra.

“I lik—” The word catches in Catra’s throat yet again, and she finally gives up. She shakes off their joined hands to poke Adora in the chest instead. “You already heard me just now!”

Adora's eyes look fond and tender. Then she gives her a little wink. “Yeah, I remember what you said.” She clears her throat dramatically, with small and dainty “ahem”s. In a voice that is half an octave higher than normal, she starts to say, “I like you sooo much, Adora! I think you’re so amazing and pretty and cool and smart and—”

“Hey! I didn’t say that! And I definitely don’t sound like that!”

“Oh. You’re right. My bad. I must've gotten it mixed up with my dreams.”

“What the fuck!”

_Why is Adora so obnoxious?_

_She needs to have a taste of her own medicine._

Catra uses a hand to sweep through her hair, leaving it artfully tousled. Suavely, she cradles Adora’s cheek and gives her a flirty up-down _look._ Adora’s shocked expression somehow reminds her of a rabbit. It makes her feel brave. In a sultry voice, she says, “Hey, Adora.” She feels her face burn hotly as the words leave her mouth, but she is not going to back down now. She caresses her cheek gently. “I like you sooo much.” And, because it seems to be having the desired effect, she shoots Adora her flirtiest smile, making sure to bite her bottom lip gently. “You’re so amazing and pretty and…”

Adora stares at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. Her eyes flick to her mouth, then her eyes, and back at her mouth, apparently unable to decide what to look at.

“... cool and smart…”

But then Catra becomes a little worried when Adora stops breathing. She pats her cheek in concern, but there is not much reaction, apart from the darkening blush on her face and a noise that sounds like a dying wheeze, so. Not comforting at all.

Catra does not know what kind of fantasy she is reliving in her mind, but she does know just what to say to snap her out of it.

“Bro, are you okay?”

The words are like magic. Adora clutches at her chest and takes a big gasp of air. Thank goodness. Catra would not know what to do if Adora just up and kicked the bucket like that. Probably call out to Perfuma and let her do her _thing._ She had approached her once with, “Perfuma, I have a problem.” Then, to her absolute horror, Perfuma had said, rather nonchalantly, “Do you want me to burn or bury?”

Adora’s eyes narrow. “Did you just call me “bro”? Again?” A vein pops up on her forehead as if she cannot believe how obtuse Catra is being. 

Catra cackles at her expression. Payback is a bitch. “Yep. Are we not bros? I mean, we did say that we like each other, but...” _If you like it you should put a ~~ring on it~~ name to it._

Adora takes a deep inhale, then breathes out slowly, as if trying to get rid of the urge to throttle Catra. It is probably going to be a recurring theme throughout their relationship. Finally looking much calmer, she says cordially, with a friendly smile and steel in her eyes, “Okay, if I somehow didn’t make things clear just now… I don’t want to date you for “practice.” I want to date you for real.”

The look in Adora’s eyes and the determined set to her jaw remind Catra of the previous time she tried to confess. But now… she feels calm. At ease with herself. Everything may be new and scary, but she is willing to take the chance with Adora.

“I want to date you, too.” Then, just because she does not share, “Exclusively.”

“Yeah. Exclusive. I don’t want to share you with anyone.” A crease grows between Adora’s brows. “Especially Scorpia.”

“Scorpia?” Catra cackles. She has a lifetime worth of blackmail material on Scorpia. She will never use it on her because she is a nice person… and also because Perfuma has a lifetime worth of blackmail material on her. But maybe she can use this situation to her advantage. “Maybe you have a little muscle envy? I don’t blame you, Scorpia has the biggest guns.”

“Hey! My arms are pretty big too!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra says dismissively, but she takes a quick glance at her arms. “Maybe if I could actually see your arms…”

Adora takes the hint and removes her jacket. She curls her arms, and a little sound escapes Catra.

_Finally._

She has been waiting for this the entire day.

She licks her lips and reaches out for Adora’s toned arms. She wants to splay her fingers all over her muscles. Feel them flex under her hands. Caress every part of her skin.

Adora clears her throat softly in an attempt to get her attention, but Catra is still staring fixedly at her arms. A terrible, horrible realization dawns upon Adora. Her arms droop slightly. “Wait. It’s not because of my big guns, right?”

Catra may actually be salivating when Adora shifts, which makes her arm muscles flex beautifully. Her arms are within touching distance, she can practically feel all that raw power beneath her skin. “What?”

“I mean, you’re not dating me because of my big guns, right?”

Catra finally looks up at Adora, only to catch a glimpse of worry in her eyes. Her arms have dropped all the way down to her sides now. “Oh my god, you’re such an idiot.”

“So… no?”

“No! It’s because of your big br—”

Adora slaps a hand over her mouth, muffling her indignant yelp. Then she uses her other hand to clutch at her own chest, making _them_ jiggle.

Catra’s eyes snap up to meet Adora's slightly panicked face, and it takes her a moment to realize what Adora assumed she was going to say. Her mouth falls open. She smacks Adora's hand away. The hand covering her mouth, of course. “I was going to say, big brain!” Her face is totally burning now. “But I can’t even say it anymore because you’re obviously an idiot!”

Adora lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh, haha! That would've been awkward.”

Catra wants to roll her eyes, but there are better things to do with the gift of sight. She licks her lips. “But now that you mention it…” With a cheeky grin, she locks eyes with Adora and gives her a little wink before dragging her gaze down slowly.

As expected, Adora’s hand comes up to her cheek to angle her head up. Pity. Catra watches Adora’s cheeks darken, part-embarrassment, part-indignation. “Catra! Why are you so…”

Catra shoots a wolfish grin at her while nuzzling into her palm. “Cute?”

“No! I mean, yes! But not right now!”

_Aw._

“Maybe because I want you to shut me up.” Catra makes a kissy face.

Adora huffs, and she lets go of Catra’s cheek to cradle the back of her head instead. “You could’ve just said so.”

“I could have, but that’s not as fu—mmph.”

Adora catches her lips, making her words disappear into her mouth. Adora’s fingers thread through her hair to angle her head, and then—their lips slot perfectly. They move together, slow and gentle, and the moment is sweet and soft. Catra’s arms come up to wrap around Adora's waist. Her body feels warm, a stark contrast to the chilly night air.

Then Adora suddenly breaks the kiss with a slightly panicked expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“The average length of a kiss is 12 seconds. Ours was almost 14 seconds long.”

“Fuck that.” Catra tries to chase her lips, but Adora stays out of reach, obviously regretting not sticking to the 12 seconds of kissing. _What the fuck._ “I must be doing something wrong if you’re counting the seconds in your head while kissing me.”

“No! I just—don’t want it to be bad.”

“It’s definitely not bad.”

Adora smiles at Catra and finally leans back in, their lips meeting in a tender and sweet kiss. Only to pull back again after a few seconds, making Catra groan. "Now what? It’s been 12 seconds already?"

Adora rests her forehead against hers, giving her a dopey grin. "No, I just wanted to say that I like you."

Catra rolls her eyes fondly. "You've already said that." _Can you stop talking and kiss me more._ When Adora looks at her with puppy eyes, obviously waiting for her to say it back, she grips on to her waist even more tightly. "I like you too." The words come out fond and sappy and—

_Will I ever stop blushing whenever I say those words?_

Adora breaks out in a broad grin. "You're so cute. I can’t believe I have such a cute girlfriend."

 _Oh._ “Girlfriend?”Catra feels her heart start beating faster. It is one thing to know that people are sometimes referred to as someone else’s partner, in a theoretical sense, but it is an entirely different thing to be referred to as Adora’s _girlfriend._

“Yeah. You know, I did some research on the different terms people use in relationships because it’s kind of confusing? Like there’s actually a difference between “hanging out,” and “going out,” depending on sociocultural differences and exclusivity and intention and—”

“Oh my god. I don’t believe you.” _Who the fuck does research on this kind of shit?_ “Is there a formula for being girlfriends, like how you worked out the frequency of breaking for air while kissing?” Catra had listened to the entire mathematical proof and all that science shit yesterday because she never gets tired of hearing Adora talk. But it does not mean that she remembers anything from her spiel.

“Nothing that complicated this time around.” Adora’s lip curls up into a smug grin. Her cute dimple makes a reappearance. “My notes say that you’re my girlfriend.”

Catra bursts into disbelieving laughter. “Yeah, right. And where does it say that?”

“Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 5.”

“You’re joking.”

“No, of course not! It’s the last section, I have it all memorized.” Adora scrunches her face in total concentration. “Concluding remarks: Having done all the abovementioned steps, Catra and Adora will become girlfriends this fine evening while they enjoy a romantic walk in the garden.”

Catra snorts. “You’re such an idiot.”

“There’s still more.” Adora waggles her eyebrows. “Then, if Catra blinks once, it means that she is asking for a kiss, and so Adora should refer to subsection (3) of section 3. That section is my personal favorite, it’s on romantic actions and gestures.”

Even before Adora finishes talking, Catra’s hands have already flown to her eyes by instinct, her thumb and finger pulling on her eyelids to keep her eyes wide open.

Adora laughs out loud at her comical expression. “Don’t want me to kiss you?”

Catra’s eyes are burning. She wants Adora to kiss her, but she does not want to lose. She does not know what exactly she is going to lose, but it kind of feels like losing anyway.

_Wait._

_I won’t lose if I…_

In a split second, she lets go, only to grab hold of Adora’s face. Her mouth falls open in surprise, and that is when Catra presses a kiss to her soft, parted lips. Then, just because she can, she plants a quick kitten lick on her lips.

_Sweet, sweet victory._

_In more ways than one._

“So, what else is in section 3?”

Adora looks a little dazed. Her hand makes an aborted attempt to touch her lips. “Wha—”

“Romantic actions and gestures, right?”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right.” Adora has a lot of confidence in her note-taking and organization skills, after all. She is always prepared. “Subsection (1) is handholding, (2) is hugging, (3) is kissing, (4) is making out…” Then she trails off, looking extremely flustered by the second.

Catra can pretty much guess why. “Hmm.” She trails a finger over Adora's shoulder, slowing moving down her arm. Their eyes follow the movement of her finger as it traces idle patterns on her skin. “And then?”

Adora’s breath hitches. She definitely knows what Catra is referring to. “What?”

Catra leans close to whisper in her ears, making sure to let her lips graze the shell of her ear. “What’s after making out?” Her fingers reach the sensitive part of Adora’s inner wrist, and she draws back to watch Adora’s reaction when she caresses the skin with her fingertips. “What about… you know?”

Adora’s face flushes crimson red, and it is answer enough.

_Oh my god._

Catra did not actually expect Adora to be so… enthusiastic. “Oh, wow. Seriously?” Then she shrugs. “Okay, we can work on it one at a time.”

“Oh my god.” Adora buries her face in the crook of Catra’s neck, arms coming up to wrap around her waist. “This is so embarrassing.”

Catra snorts. “Yeah, you’re so embarrassing.”

Adora’s voice is muffled against her skin. Her breath is hot, every puff sending tingles down Catra’s spine. “You still like me, though.”

Did Catra hear some hesitation in Adora's voice? That will not do. She hugs Adora tightly. “Yeah. I like you. I like you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost there! the next (and last) update will be on 25th august! yepp, two weeks from now bc:  
> \- irl stuff (my birthday! job apps! tests!)  
> \- wanna edit previous chapters before posting the final one~
> 
> BUT!! this also means that i've more time to incorporate any feedback from you, so! if there's anything you wanna see in the last chapter, feel free to let me know :) 
> 
> as always, thanks for reading!~ kudos and comments are appreciated, they make my day! <3 my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer lets out a long sigh as she turns away from them. “I hate them so much.”
> 
> Bow nods in commiseration. “I don’t get why they’re like that.”
> 
> Perfuma agrees. “They’re kinda stupid…”
> 
> “But we love them anyway!” Scorpia continues. “Right, guys?” When no one replies, she answers herself. She is her own cheerleader, after all. “Right!”

To: catra@student.etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: EC101 Term Paper Re-grading

Dear student,

The school has received your request for a re-grade (Case #33).

Please schedule an appointment with Professor Castaspella (castaspella@etheria.edu) to discuss your assignment and grade.

Regards,  
Office of Undergraduate Studies  


To: castaspella@etheria.edu  
Subject: FW: RE: EC101 Term Paper Re-grading

Dear Professor Castaspella,

This is regarding my request for re-grading my EC101 term paper. May I ask if you are available to meet today or tomorrow?

Thank you.

Regards,  
Catra  


To: catra@student.etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: FW: RE: EC101 Term Paper Re-grading

Hi Catra,

I’ll b

CASTASPELLA  
~pool of vision, with sights to uncover~  


To: catra@student.etheria.edu  
Subject: RE: RE: FW: RE: EC101 Term Paper Re-grading

I’ll be in my office (MYS-4-08), please drop by anytime.

CASTASPELLA  
~pool of vision, with sights to uncover~

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Catra & Adora]**

**catra😈:** :(

 **Adora🌻:** Babe what’s wrong?

 **catra😈:** :(

 **Adora🌻:** Turn that frown upside down :)

 **catra😈:** ):

 **Adora🌻:** Not like that!!

 **catra😈:** i have to meet prof castaspella to discuss my econ term paper,,, soon,,,

 **Adora🌻:** Ohhh

 **catra😈:** sighhhh i dont rly want to see her  
**catra😈:** shes just gonna say that it sucks :(

 **Adora🌻:** It’s really good!!  
**Adora🌻:** I read it again yesterday! It has solid economic grounding, good use of graphs, and it's well-substantiated with examples :)

 **catra😈:** :(

 **Adora🌻:** Bow said it was great too, right?

 **catra😈:** ...  
**catra😈:** well.  
**catra😈:** i cant argue with him

 **Adora🌻:** Huh?? Can’t argue with HIM?  
**Adora🌻:** What about me???

 **catra😈:** idk i think it’s pretty obvious :3

 **Adora🌻:** CATRAAA!!

 **catra😈:** sighhhh im going in now

 **Adora🌻:** Okay!! You can do it!!

 **catra😈:** lol im not even gonna do anything

 **Adora🌻:** Omg. You know what I mean! Best of luck <3

* * *

After a few minutes of psyching herself up, Catra finally raises her hand to rap on Castaspella's door.

_Knock! Knock!_

“Come in!”

Catra takes a big gulp, then turns the doorknob. Castaspella is hidden behind a stack of papers.“Prof Castaspella? I’m Catra, I emailed you regarding my econ term paper…?”

“Catra! Um, take a seat. Let me just…” Castaspella tries to clear the mess on her table. Catra watches with trepidation as she almost hits over a glass of water balancing precariously on the edge of her table, but it does not fall over. “What module is it again?”

“Intro to econ, EC101.”

“Shadow Weaver, huh. No surprise there. Mmh, okay, I’ve found it.” Under her breath, she mutters, “It’s the thirty-third one this semester.”

 _Uh._ “Sorry…?”

“What?” Castaspella pauses while tilting her computer monitor to face Catra. “Oh no, it’s not you, dear. I’ve been getting a lot of re-grading requests ever since Shado—” Then she realizes that it probably is not a good thing to talk behind her colleague’s back. “Anyway! Your paper.”

Catra gulps. Her palms, already clammy, are now sweating profusely.

_Here it is._

_The day of reckoning._

She closes her eyes to mentally prepare herself.

“Interesting ideas on monopolistic competition, I like how you brought in other firm structures for comparison. There’s clear organization, sufficient analysis of evidence…” Castaspella trails off.

Catra is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. “But…?”

“But?” Castaspella looks at Catra and lifts an eyebrow in puzzlement. “Um. There’s no major issue. Your paper demonstrates a good understanding of economics concepts required for an introductory class.”

“Oh. So… it’s okay?”

“Yes, I’d have given you an A. I’ll email the office, your grade will probably be updated in a few days’ time.” Castaspella lets out a long sigh. “There must’ve been a, uh, mix-up of grades or… something,” she says, although she does not look like she believes the words that are coming out of her mouth. “I’m in the process of sorting it out, I’ve been compiling all the reported cases. All thirty”—her computer _pings_ with a new email and she lets out a long sigh when she sees the heading—“four of them.”

“Oh. Uh. Thanks, prof.”

Castaspella gives her a smile. “No problem, Catra.”

Catra barely manages to bite back a grin when she walks out of Castaspella’s office. It feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

_In your face, Shadow Weaver!_

Then she realizes that there are strange sounds coming from behind the corner of the hallway.

“—if she doesn’t change her grade?”

“Then I’ll change i— _ouch!”_

“No, you’re not!”

“Guys, stop being so loud! She’s going to hear us!”

“Set. You’ll change the grade, I’ll change the professor.”

As she rounds the corner, she finds her friends huddling in a circle. Glimmer is pinching Bow’s side with an annoyed look on her face, Bow’s face is scrunched up in pain, but he still manages to prop up his laptop on his knee, Adora is flailing about and trying to get them to quieten down to no avail, Perfuma is polishing her—Catra rubs her eyes because she cannot believe what Perfuma actually brought to school—and Scorpia is, well, being Scorpia.

“Dear, there’s no need for vio—” Scorpia is the first person to notice her. She bounds toward her and wraps her up in a big, comforting hug. In a rush of words, before Catra can interject, she says, “How did it go? Are you okay? Do you need a tissue? I think I have some here.” She lets go of Catra to reach into her pockets, and she is fumbling around so badly that it looks like she is touching herself inappropriately.

“Hey, it’s all good. She gave me an A!”

Scorpia’s eyes widen in happiness. “That’s amazing! Congrats!”

“Apparently there are over thirty requests for re-grading. Dunno if it’s all from Shadow Weaver’s class, but, you know.”

Scorpia makes a face. "The university should do something about her, seriously. How can there be such a huge discrepancy?

"Yeah, exactly." Catra has lost count of the number of nights she has lost sleep because of her stupid grade. "I think Castaspella is working on it, though." Then she suddenly feels shy when she realizes that all her friends are here. She rubs at her nose and says, “Why are you guys here?”

Bow chimes in. “It was Adora’s idea, she couldn’t”—he nudges against Adora’s shoulder and winks conspiratorily —“wait to see you.”

“Bow!” Adora punches him in the arm, and he sucks in a pained breath. “Shut up! It’s because you kept snooping around to check if her grade’s been changed!”

Catra catches sight of the growing blush on Adora’s cheeks. “It’s okay, Adora. You don’t have to make excuses.”

Adora gapes at Catra and stammers uselessly. “I wasn’t! I was trying to stop him! Look at his laptop!”

But there is nothing incriminating on Bow's laptop screen at first glance, but his desktop is cluttered with hundreds of files with dumb names, so.

“Sure.” Catra lets out a disbelieving snort, then she gives her a shit-eating grin. She does not know where her confidence comes from. Maybe it is because she feels so much better now. “Just say you missed me.”

“Fine.” Adora marches over to wrap Catra in a hug, her cheeks still flushing prettily. She presses a kiss on her cheek before whispering into her ear, “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

Glimmer gives a loud groan. “Really, guys? I can't even go a day without seeing you two—” She makes a face.

“Aw, but they’re so cute together, though!” Scorpia sighs happily. She extends her arms to wrap them in a bear hug. Adora, squeezed between the two of them, lets out a soft _oof._ Scorpia meets Catra's eyes, and then she says, “I can’t believe you two are actually together! I mean, I had absolute confidence in you, but you just kept staring at her for so long and didn’t make any mo—”

“Scorp, no!” Catra says, trying to drown out her voice, but she is only partially successful. She tries to wriggle her hand out to pinch Scorpia because she is an oversharer and has no qualms about revealing every embarrassing fact about her, but her hand is trapped somewhere between Adora and Scorpia.

Scorpia pats Catra’s head, unconcerned that she is trying to bite off her fingers like a rabid cat. “It seemed like only yesterday when I told you to ask her out! You’ve grown so much.”

Adora’s words are indistinct and muffled because her face is pressed in Catra’s hair. “You did?”

“Yes! She was staring at you every single lecture, probably lost in some daydream about a summer… no, a winter wedding…?”

“No!” Catra tries to escape from the way-too-prolonged hug, but neither Adora nor Scorpia lets go of her. “You’re just making things u—”

“… and rambling on about baby names. I think she mentioned one or two before…”

Adora’s whole body suddenly tenses up, and Catra thinks, _Oh no, this is it, we’ve reached maximum creepiness, and it’s all Scorp’s fault._ Her slightly panicked expression must have gotten through to Scorpia, because Scorpia quickly releases them from the hug and takes a few steps back. Unconvincingly, she says, “It’s just a joke! Hahaha…”

But Adora merely turns around to advance on Scorpia, who stumbles back in fright at her threatening expression.

Taking large strides toward Scorpia, Adora asks in a tone that brooks no argument, “Summer. Or. Winter.” When Scorpia backs up even more because Adora looks so scary, Adora does not hesitate to gain more ground. “And. What. Baby. Names.”

Scorpia turns and runs away while Adora chases after her with determined strides, knowing that Scorpia is her only chance at figuring out Catra’s dream wedding plans and baby names. Perfuma gives a sharp yelp at the sight of Scorpia running for her life, before getting into a flawless crouch and _sprinting_ after them in her bright pink pumps.

The three of them disappear into another hallway—someone sticks their head out of their office to yell at them—leaving Catra, Bow, and Glimmer staring at one another, flabbergasted.

Bow nudges Catra. He leans down to whisper conspiratorially at her. “Wedding, huh.”

Catra feels her face heat up even further. “Scorpia was joking! Obviously!” Surely she cannot be held accountable for words that slipped out when she was half-awake and lost in yet another daydream.

Glimmer shares a _look_ with Bow. Then, they gang up on Catra.

With a serious expression, Glimmer says, “You can’t marry Adora.”

 _What._ “Why not?” Then Catra feels a little stupid, because she is too young and dumb for things like marriage and, more importantly, she does not need permission from Adora’s ~~parents~~ friends. “It’s none of your business, anyway.”

Glimmer shakes her head sadly. She says simply, “You just can’t.”

Bow nods along to Glimmer’s words as if they make any sense. _Listen to your mother,_ is what Bow’s scrunched-up face seems to say. _Please don’t look at me, I don’t know what’s going on either._

Catra turns her gaze back at Glimmer because Bow’s constipated face is not helping her at all. “I’m going to marry whoever I want.”

“Yeah, just not Adora,” Glimmer agrees easily, as if it is already a foregone conclusion.

 _What the fuck._ At Glimmer’s snooty look, Catra hears herself say, “Fuck you, I’m going to marry Adora, and neither of you can sto—”

As the words leave her mouth, she feels her body freeze in shock. _What the fuck._

Bow and Glimmer start laughing so loudly that it barely drowns out the rushing in Catra’s ears. She cannot even begin to process the fact that she actually said that she would— _marry_ — _what the fuck._

“Ha! You’re so easy.” Glimmer cackles maniacally, and she shares a high-five with Bow. They do a little victory dance at pulling off their evil masterplan to kill Catra with embarrassment.

Bow grins at Catra. “We’re going to be the best man—”

“And woman,” Glimmer adds on.

Even Catra’s body is slow to react because her brain is still processing the words. She feels a blush creeping up her face, starting from her neck, all the way to the tips of her ears. “I didn’t mean it like—!”

“Like what?”

Adora is back. Her face is flushed red with exertion, her hair and clothes in disarray. She slings a warm arm over Catra. She takes stock of the situation quickly—the terrible dancing by Bow and Glimmer and the growing red blush on Catra’s face. “Were you two bullying Catra?”

Bow stops breakdancing. “Haha, of course not!” He hurriedly stands up from the floor and pats the dust from his pants. “We’re just… uh… making a deal with Catra!”

“Yeah. She was just about to accept, right?” Glimmer smiles widely at Catra, showing way too much teeth. “We… wouldn’t want any information to make its way out of today’s conversation, right?”

Catra is about to scoff and play it off because, _really, marriage?_

_Bow as the best man, and Glimmer as the best woman?_

Then she catches sight of the serious set to Glimmer’s eyes. They seem to suggest the question is not as simple as Bow and Glimmer being their best anything, rather, it seems to say, _if you’re not serious about Adora…_

Adora looks unconvinced at their display. She looks at Catra and says, “Are you sure they’re not bullying you? You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

Catra buries her face in her hands. _You don’t even know what they’re asking._ “If it ever happens, fine! And it’ll be because I want you two to be there!”

Bow and Glimmer share another high-five.

_Actually…_

“But you’ll be part of the staff—food preparation—catering—whatever, because there’s always Scorp and Perfuma, hahaha.” Catra sticks out her tongue at them, and Glimmer raises her clenched fists. Small people have a lot of rage in them. Or maybe it is only Glimmer.

Adora cocks her head, trying to figure out their cryptic conversation. She tries to join in, now that she does not have to jump in between them in case a fight breaks out. “Glimmer can’t cook, though”—Bow quickly stops Glimmer from dealing a mortal blow—“I can cook, you can put me on th—”

“You’re definitely not going to be part of the food staff, Adora,” Catra says huffily. But at Glimmer’s loud snort, she realizes what she admitted to. She hurriedly backtracks. “In our extremely hypothetical scenario.”

Bow rubs his chin and nods. “That sounded very hypothetical.”

Glimmer cackles again. She turns to Bow and pretends to imitate Catra. “I know where I want you to be…”

“Definitely not part of the food staff, of course.” Bow bats his eyelashes at her.

Glimmer gives him a shit-eating grin. “And where would you like me to be, then?”

They burst into another round of laughter.

 _Ha ha. Very funny._ “We’re going!” Catra grabs hold of Adora’s hand and tugs her away. “Why are Bow and Glimmer so annoying!”

“What were they talking about?”

Catra quickly snaps her mouth shut, but when she sneaks a look at Adora, she sees her pouting slightly at being left out of the conversation. “I’ll tell you someday. Maybe. But in the meantime, we need to sign them up for cooking lessons. The food better be good.”

Adora sighs. “Okay, we can all learn cooking together!”

“No, I told you, you’re not going to cook. Neither of us is going to cook.”

Adora suddenly smirks, and an ominous feeling washes over Catra. “Then who’s going to cook for Finn?”

Catra groans. “Fuck.”

“Finn,” Adora says again, smugly. “Nice baby name. I approve.”

Catra is about to die of mortification. “Scorpia’s lying! You—what? You app—” Then she finally registers her words, and her heart almost thumps out of her chest. _What the fuck._

Adora lets out a hum and swings their joined hands happily. “Yeah, Finn. It sounds pretty good.”

Catra lets out another long groan. “Be right back, I’m just going to die here.”

“No one's going to die, Catra.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe Scorpia just betrayed me like that. She sucks!”

“Hmm… Actually, she’s pretty decent.” Adora grins when Catra does a double-take and looks at her in disbelief. She adds, “We’re planning to go to the gym later.”

Catra actually stops walking because _when have Adora and Scorpia even been on good terms?_ “No, you’re not.”

“We are, actually. As of…” Adora checks her phone. “Seven minutes ago. And we’re such good friends that…” She navigates to her photo gallery to show her The Photo.

Catra’s heart sinks because it is the photo of Catra, Scorpia, and Perfuma after a day of paintball. She stares in horror at her past self’s big scowl and tightly crossed arms which were the result of Perfuma forcing her to pay for her ticket.

“No way!” Catra yelps, her face practically burning to a crisp. “Delete it!”

Adora bites on her lip to stifle the growing smile on her face. “I’m never going to delete this, ever. You’re so cute here, it’s going to be my new lock screen photo!”

“I’m not cute!” Catra tries to wrest the phone from Adora’s hand, but Adora tiptoes and holds it out of reach. 

Adora takes one long look at the photo despite Catra’s flailing arms that obstruct her line of sight, as if trying to memorize all the details, before tucking her phone safely in her pocket with a smile. She decides to give Catra a chance. “Maybe I’ll consider deleting it if you…” She makes a kissy face.

Catra’s face scrunches as she thinks about it. Adora has kept her phone, which makes it seem highly unlikely that she will keep her word. But two can play at this game. A smirk grows on her face. “No.”

Adora’s mouth transforms into a pout. “No kiss?”

Catra crosses her arms. Staunchly, she says, “No.”

“Eh.” Adora looks a little stricken now. Good. “Come on, baby. One kiss.”

“I’m not your… baby.” Catra feels her face heat up at the term of endearment, but she will stay strong. She does not care about the photo either way, but Adora needs to learn her lesson about calling her _cute._ “No kiss.”

Adora tries to wrap an arm around Catra, but she shrugs it off and turns away from her. “Boo?”

“Not your boo either. Don’t call me that.”

Adora sees the tightness in Catra’s shoulders, probably thinking that she is really mad about the invasion of privacy. “Fine, babe, I’ll delete it if you want. Don’t be mad.” When Catra does not respond, Adora holds her phone out to her and mournfully taps _delete._ “Okay, it's gone.”

Catra takes a peek at her phone. _Oh, it’s really gone._

Adora tugs on Catra’s arm, who reluctantly follows the motion. But she is still looking away. “Are you still mad at me?”

“…”

“Catraaa.”

Catra finally drags her eyes up to meet Adora’s puppy dog eyes. “Repeat after me.”

“Okay.” Adora nods furiously. “Anything.”

“Catra is…”

“Catra is…”

“Not cute.”

“Not-not cute.”

Catra’s eyes narrow. “Did you stutter intentionally?”

“Nope.” Adora’s gaze skitters away. “Why don’t you like me calling you cute?”

“I’m not cute because…” Catra waits till Adora looks at her. She hopes she is still keeping a straight face despite the urge to laugh at Adora. “You’re the cute one.”

Adora groans. “Are you serious? I thought you were mad at me! And it’s not an exclusive thing, we can both be the cute ones!”

“… Oh.”

“You just realized it, huh.”

“No!”

They suddenly hear Scorpia’s voice. “Were we so bad when we started dating?”

“Definitely not. We’re not as dumb as these two idiots.”

“Scorpia!” Adora exclaims happily, her face brightening up. “Gym time!”

Catra shoots an evil stare at Scorpia and Perfuma. She tugs on Adora’s hand before she leaves. “You forgot something.”

Adora cocks her head until Catra’s growing pout draws her attention to her mouth. “Oh!” She grins and leans down, their lips meeting softly. Catra’s hands come up to tangle in Adora’s hair.

Scorpia and Perfuma look away, trying to tune out the noises they are making. Catra is being louder than usual, making it very clear what she thinks of their untimely interruption. When she finally pulls away, Adora’s hair is mussed up and there is a dazed expression on her face. “Text you later?”

“Yeah,” Catra says. “Have fun with Scorp.”

* * *

**[PRIVATE CHAT: Adora & Catra]**

**Adora🌻:** [image: adora & scorpia selfie]  
**Adora🌻:** Who has bigger guns? :D

 **catra😈:** hmmm  
**catra😈:** from this angle,,, scorp.

 **Adora🌻:** Nooo!!!  
**Adora🌻:** You’re supposed to be on my side!!

 **catra😈:** mayb if u have photos with diff angles…

 **Adora🌻:** [image: adora & scorpia selfie 1]  
**Adora🌻:** [image: adora & scorpia selfie 2]  
**Adora🌻:** I only have these :(

 **catra😈:** very nice ;)

 **Adora🌻:** So?

 **catra😈:** ??

 **Adora🌻:** Who??

 **catra😈:** what

 **Adora🌻:** Who has the bigger guns?

 **catra😈:** oh  
**catra😈:** rite  
**catra😈:** um

 **Adora🌻:** Lol  
**Adora🌻:** What were you doing with the photos

 **catra😈:** nth!!!!!!

 **Adora🌻:** Hm. Suspicious ;)  
**Adora🌻:** It's not fair that you have so many photos of me but I only have one of you…

 **catra😈:** omg fine  
**catra😈:** [image: catra, scorpia, & perfuma selfie]

 **Adora🌻:** Yay :D

 **catra😈:** [image: catra selfie]

 **Adora🌻:** What’s this  
**Adora🌻:** OMG  
**Adora🌻:** asdfj isthis u rn????

 **catra😈:** mayb ;)

 **Adora🌻:** i knew yu were doig somthing w myphotos

 **catra😈:** can u pick up myvideo callll  
**catra😈:** what are u waitig for

 **Adora🌻:** omgggOK

* * *

The rest of their semester passes in a whirlwind. Midterms, projects, assignments, presentations, finals… They are never-ending, but they get through it together.

They are actually productive during study sessions, which is unsurprising, because Glimmer rules over them with an iron fist. They are sometimes the first ones to reach the library, and the last ones to leave. But unlike the brutal pace they were put through on that particular Sunday, they take regular lunch and dinner breaks. They make it a mission to try all the cafés in school before the school semester ends. It makes Catra actually look forward to their study sessions together, not only because she gets to see Adora.

On this particular warm and sunny afternoon, they are all enjoying the outdoors on the mountainside. Glimmer, Bow, and Perfuma are frolicking on the grass, soaking in the warm sunshine, and admiring the beautiful flowers. They chatter excitedly, and when Bow points at a large sunflower, Perfuma notices his painted nails—beautifully done by Catra—and she makes the appropriate _oohs_ and _aahs_ at the pastel colors. Those are his favorite because he is a self-proclaimed _soft boy,_ whatever that means.

Catra is proud of herself, though. She has improved leaps and bounds since the first time she tried to paint nails, and she is even experimenting with ombrés.

It all started with their mutual love of crop tops.

Now, Catra and Bow go thrift shopping on Fridays to pick out the best clothing Etheria has to offer. Their girlfriends have zero fashion sense and hate shopping with a passion, so the two of them hang out at shopping malls, pick out skirts and earrings and crop tops—of course—and take turns to paint each other’s nails in the evenings.

The first time she tried to paint his nails… went a little awry. She had given her usual disclaimer about “not having any nail polish remover,” and he had reacted too slowly. Catra, feeling guilty at the way Bow blinked back tears when they tried and failed to remove the black smudge on his hand, had bought nail polish remover the next day, only to discover that he also bought her nail polish remover. And a set of ten bottles of pastel nail polish, because “I’m not going to have black nails every week while you have colorful nails, man.”

Adora shifts slightly, and it brings Catra out of one of the many fond memories she has with her friends. They are on a picnic mat beneath a large willow oak tree, her head resting on Adora’s lap. She is having too much fun ribbing Scorpia. “… the Heart of Jazz concert? I can’t believe you actually invited all of us along, haha.”

“I’m not as bad as you!” Scorpia exclaims. “I love you so much, but…” She shakes her head and tuts loudly. “You’re kind of oblivious, dude.”

“Aw, I love you too.” Catra chooses not to comment on the _oblivious_ part because it is absolutely untrue. And it comes from _Scorpia,_ which makes it even more ridiculous. She curls an arm around Adora’s waist. “Tell her she’s wrong, babe.”

“Yeah.” Adora hums, her hand petting Catra’s hair absentmindedly. She has been staring at Catra with a fond smile on her face. “You’re wrong. Catra’s perfect,” she says, darting a stony look at Scorpia, apparently still having some muscle envy. Then her hand stills. “Wait. Did you say you love her?”

“Yeah? We say it all the time.” Scorpia cocks her head in puzzlement. Then her eyes widen in realization. “You mean, you haven’t said—” Awkwardly, she tries to backtrack. “As friends, of course! I love my friends! I have such wonderful friends. I love you too, Adora.”

Catra is going to murder Scorpia. “Shut up, Scorp.” She nuzzles into Adora and says, “Ignore her.” But she knows that Adora is definitely going to overthink the l-word, that is just how she is. She may as well say it first, and Adora will say it back, and they will live happily ever after without any worries.

Apparently, having been together for so long, both of them have the exact same idea.

“I love y—” “I love you.”

Catra sits up with a jolt, her head almost hitting Adora’s chin. They barely manage to avoid a face to face collision—and not in a good way, like the times their faces press softly against each other whenever they kiss. “You can’t say it first, Adora! I was going to be the first one to say it.”

“To be fair, we said it at the same time.”

“No, you cut me off before I could finish saying it!” Catra exclaims hotly, her mouth screwing up into an exaggerated pout.

“Oh my god, I take it back, you can say it first.”

“You can’t take it back!” Catra gapes at her, dismayed. “You don’t _understand_ me, babe!”

Adora rolls her eyes fondly. She extends a hand out to Catra, who is still frowning cutely and staying out of reach. “Come on, babe. I’m sorry, don’t be mad.”

Glimmer notices the commotion. She trots over to ask, “Lovers’ quarrel?” Neither of them pays any attention to her, so she turns to Scorpia instead. “Please don’t tell me it’s because of something dumb again.”

“Yeah,” Scorpia sighs. “It’s because they said _I love you_ at the same time.”

“Of course.” Glimmer scoffs as if she does not expect anything else from them. But she settles down next to Scorpia to watch the drama unfold with avid eyes. “Ah, watching the two of them being stupid is the highlight of my week. I don’t know how I’d get by without their drama.”

Her words must have been loud enough because Adora and Catra say unanimously, “We’re not stupid!”

Catra whips around to stare Adora down. “How can we say that simultaneously but not _I love you!”_

Adora’s arms are outstretched, her hands grasping at the air, like they cannot decide between throttling or hugging Catra. “Fine, let’s just say it again on the count of three!” she yells at her. “One, two, three—I LOVE YOU!”

But Catra merely crosses her arms tightly, her lips pressed in a thin line. Her voice is chilly. “Now you’ve said it twice. And I haven’t even said it once.”

Scorpia stares at the train wreck about to happen. When Adora grabs holds of Catra’s hand, she says, “Guys, chill. Just pretend I didn’t say anything!” But neither of them is listening—Catra shakes off Adora’s hand furiously, only to grasp at her arm. Scorpia does not know why Catra needs to drag her hand up and down Adora’s forearm like _that_ when they are fighting. It looks kind of indecent.

Perfuma lays down on the mat to observe the two idiots. “It’s okay, Scorp. They’re just finding an excuse to touch each other. Then they’re going to make out angrily later.”

“What are they arguing about now?” Bow turns up, newly energized after his dalliance with nature. “Their fight seems serious this time around. What happened?” But Glimmer, Perfuma, and Scorpia are too invested in the growing disaster to reply—Catra and Adora are rolling off the mat to tussle on the grass, their hands roving all over each other. “Shouldn’t we break up the fight?”

Glimmer purses her lips. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you tried?” She sees Adora straddle Catra, pinning her hands over her head. Even from a few feet away, she can practically feel the tension oozing from them, their chests heaving with exertion, darkened gazes never leaving the other. “Also, it really doesn’t seem like they’re fighting.” _Like all the other times before this._

Bow opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again. He concedes when Adora lean down until their faces are just inches away from each other, her hair falling into a curtain that partially obscures their sight of them. Everyone tilts to the right to get a better view of them. “True,” Bow says as he settles down on the space they previously occupied, kicking his legs out. “How long before they make out?”

Glimmer cocks her head to the side. She watches keenly as Catra gives a wicked smirk and hooks a leg over Adora’s waist as she tries to flip them over. “Five minutes.” When Catra manages to do so successfully without expending much effort, Glimmer realizes that Adora is not trying very hard at all. Hell, Adora is even placing her hands on Catra’s waist to steady her. She rolls her eyes. “Scratch that. Three minutes.”

Perfuma takes in their expressions, actions, and words. When they start rolling around again, seemingly evenly matched, she looks in the direction they are heading toward. “I think it’s going to be one of their shorter arguments. Three minutes if they don’t fall off the cliff. Five minutes if they fall off.”

“What happened to the honeymoon phase, though?” Scorpia sighs, wise enough not to take up a bet against Perfuma and Glimmer who arrived at the same conclusion. “I thought they’d, I don’t know, be more lovey-dovey or something.”

“This _is_ their honeymoon phase.” Glimmer rolls her eyes again and makes a face. “It’s how they express their affection for each other.” They have been doing this every time she sees them, and she really does not need to see them make out every day. _They’re so weird,_ her disgusted expression seems to say. _I can’t believe there’s actually someone as weird as Adora._

They watch avidly as Adora hurriedly catches hold of Catra’s arm when she tumbles off the five-foot-tall cliff. Scorpia gives a loud gasp, about to get up from the mat to help Catra, but Perfuma tugs on her hand to stop her. Catra is screaming something like, _Save yourself! Let go of me!_ and Adora is crying out, _I’ll never let go of you!_

The four spectators suffer in silence because they are pretty sure Catra’s feet can reach the foot of the cliff—it is only five feet tall, for goodness’ sake—she is just choosing not to because she is a big drama queen.

Bow buries his head in his hands, unable to take the secondhand embarrassment any longer. Glimmer rolls her eyes to the sky, hoping that someone up there will give her the strength to get through their stupidly dramatic—dramatically stupid?—display. Scorpia finally realizes that Catra is not in dire straits when she licks her lips after seeing Adora’s arms flex with exertion—she probably just wants to see how strong Adora is. Perfuma is counting down the seconds in her head because the three minutes are almost up.

Adora manages to pull Catra up, and then the two of them wrap their arms around each other, lost in their own world.

“I knew it! Three minutes exactly!” Perfuma says excitedly as Catra leans up to kiss Adora on the lips, and Adora kisses her back enthusiastically. They are probably saying their _I love you_ s to each other in the most ridiculous fashion.

Glimmer lets out a long sigh as she turns away from them. “I hate them so much.”

Bow nods in commiseration. “I don’t get why they’re like that.”

Perfuma agrees. “They’re kinda stupid…”

“But we love them anyway!” Scorpia continues. “Right, guys?” When no one replies, she answers herself. She is her own cheerleader, after all. “Right!”

“I’m sure the honeymoon phase will be over soon.” Bow brightens up at the thought.

Glimmer levels an unamused stare at him. “You do know what’s after the honeymoon phase.”

“No…?”

“More. Fighting.”

“Oh.”

The four of them stare at their picnic mat despondently. Even Scorpia’s shoulders seem to droop slightly.

* * *

A Few Weeks Later

__ _Riiing!_

Catra wakes with a jolt. _Who the fuck is calling at god knows what time?_ Groaning, she reaches out for the bedside table to find her phone. The harsh sunlight makes her squint to identify the caller ID. Glimmer.

“What.” Catra clears her throat when her voice comes out hoarse. “Fuck.”

A pause. “Catra?”

Mid-yawn, she says, “What do you want? It’s”—she looks at the phone display and groans—“9:05 am.”

“Um. Our grades are out!”

Just like that, Catra is wide awake. She kicks off her comforter and dashes to her laptop, ignoring the confused yelp from the bed when she accidentally drags the comforter off the bed.

“Uh… Tell Adora too, I guess. Bye!”

“Whozzat?” Adora rubs her eyes blearily and tries to blink herself awake.

“Glimmer, she said that our grades are out.” Then Catra realizes that she is holding on to Adora’s phone. Oops. “Sorry, didn’t realize it’s your phone.”

Adora yawns. “It’s fine.” The next second, she jumps out of bed, seemingly awake and ready to go. She picks up the comforter that has half-fallen to the floor and drags it onto the bed.

While waiting for the university webpage to load— _why the fuck is everyone checking their grades now?_ —Catra looks over her laptop to see Adora making the bed. Adora is wearing her gray tank top and shorts, her hair is sticking out everywhere, and when she bends over to tuck in the last corner of the comforter…

As though feeling Catra’s lecherous stare on her, Adora turns around to look at her. “What?”

“Nothing, just admiring the… view.”

Adora lets out a groan, but she has already grown used to it. She looks around for her hair tie and begins bunching her hair into a high ponytail. “See something you like?”

“Hm…” Catra lets her eyes drag down and up again. Her eyes linger on her biceps, and the flexing of her muscles as her hair tie snaps into place. “I can’t see from all the way over here.”

Adora huffs, but she pads over nonetheless. “You have perfect eyesight, Catra.”

“No, I don’t,” Catra says with a straight face. “I have heterochromia.”

“That doesn’t affect your vision, though.”

“How would you know?” Catra waits until Adora reaches her before suggesting, “Maybe you should come closer and check.” She gives her a suggestive look and puckers up her lips slightly.

Adora fails to take the hint, as always. “Shouldn’t I be further away, though? We need an eye chart, but maybe I can do some hand gestures instead… And don’t I need to be some distance away? Your room isn’t that big, but maybe if I stand at the other en—”

Catra grabs hold of Adora before she actually decides to go away, which she probably will, given the slightly worried look on her face. With her other hand, she reaches up to her neck to pull Adora down. Their parted lips meet, and it is not so much one kiss as it is a series of small kisses, until they finally break apart.

Adora looks a bit breathless when she pulls away. “That’s not—how they check eyesight. What kind of optometrist have you been seeing?” Adora’s hand comes up to trail over Catra’s face, fingertips brushing over her cheek like a whisper. Then she leans down to peck her gently on her lips again.

Catra does not know if she will ever get used to the sight of Adora treating her so well, so tenderly. “I’m just joking, my eyesight is fine.” Adora is so nice that teasing her makes Catra feel a little bad.

“Oh. That’s good.” Adora drapes an arm over her shoulders before resting her head against hers. A little belatedly, she says, “Good morning. How was your sleep?”

“Morning.” Catra turns her gaze back to the laptop and hits refresh because the page is still loading. “It’s fine.”

Usually, she would be anxious and full of nerves before results day, but she had a surprisingly good night’s sleep yesterday. Adora had stopped her from setting an alarm at 8:59 am because “it’s not like the grades will differ based on the time you check it.” She only agreed reluctantly because Adora is the only person who is more stubborn than her, and also because Adora can be rather… distracting when she wants to be.

“I didn’t kick you in my sleep?”

“Nope. I slept throughout the night. You?”

“Same.” Adora nuzzles into her hair and breathes in her scent. Catra used to think it was weird that Adora actually likes the way she smells, but she realized that it must be the same way she thinks of _familiarity_ and _comfort_ and _home_ whenever she catches hints of Adora’s scent. Although, to be fair, they probably share the same scent now, given how much time they have been spending together.

The university course site finally loads. Hands trembling slightly, she begins typing in her username and password. Then she realizes that Adora is here too. Sheepishly, she turns to look at her. “Do you want to check yours first?”

Adora snorts because Catra’s finger is already hovering above the _enter_ key and she is a millisecond away from pressing it _._ “It’s fine, you go first.”

Catra presses down. After staring at the screen with much trepidation, the page finally loads. She is about to click on “My Grades” when Adora places a hand over hers. “Wait. Should I make some coffee?”

Their bottle of instant black coffee stands beside Poopiefuma the cactus and Scorpie the plush scorpion. Scattered around them are Tiny Bow and Tiny Glimmer, battle figures handmade by Bow so that she will “never forget them,” which is ridiculous because the six of them are going to stay in the same apartment next year.

Catra hears _something_ in the tone of Adora’s voice which makes her pause. Also, they have run out of sugar and Adora will never ever take her coffee black, even in her most desperate hours. Adora still recounts the espresso challenge as “one of the worst things” she has ever experienced in her life, and she confessed that she only did it to impress Catra. Catra was not impressed though, because it was a waste of perfectly good coffee. But she was definitely amused and a little touched by the lengths Adora would go to for her.

Does she want Adora to see her grades? What if they suck and Adora looks at her with _pity_ in her eyes—not that it has ever happened, but still—can she trust Adora with one of the most important things in her life? An academic warning means she is one step closer to academic probation and it will probably be a downhill slope all the way to losing her scholarship and moving back home with her tail between her legs and knowing that she amounts to nothing.

She thinks Adora may actually be asking, _Will you allow me to see all parts of you—the good and the bad—and trust that I will stay by your side regardless?_

Or maybe she is overthinking everything and Adora just wants some coffee.

Catra pulls out the chair beside her.

_Whatever happens…_

_I want you to stay with me._

She sees a smile growing on Adora’s face. Adora slips into the chair and intertwines their fingers together, squeezing them lightly. _I’m always going to stay with you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand that's a wrap!! this is my first fanfic & I'm so glad to have written something for the she-ra fandom!! sorry for any inconsistencies and mistakes, I hope you enjoyed reading it nonetheless :D
> 
> a huge THANK YOU to all of you, I don't think I'd have finished this without your support!! your kudos & comments rly kept me going throughout these three months!! feel free to subscribe to me, I hope to write more she-ra fics in the future <3 
> 
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/ellie1908_?s=09)


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